Jammu, Oct. 22 -- While Ladakh has announced a schedule for its much-awaited Panchayat elections, the wait for rural body polls in Jammu and Kashmir continues, with no date in sight.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently remarked, in a lighter vein, that Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) elections will be held "at an appropriate time". He drew a comparison with the Union Government's promise of restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time.
The delay has left the Union Territory without any elected local governance institution. The five-year tenure of Panchayats and Block Development Councils (BDCs) ended on January 9, 2024. Municipal bodies had completed their terms earlier, in October-November 2023, and the Distr...