Block Development Council polls across Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh on Oct 24

SRINAGAR:The Block Development Council (BDC) elections across Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh would be held on October 24, J&K chief election commissioner Shailendra Kumar announced on Sunday.

Kumar said “12,565 posts of panches and sarpanches are vacant in the Kashmir Valley” due to various reasons, including “resignations, deaths and non-conduct of elections during the exercise held in November 2018”. In Kashmir, 6,162 panches and 1,366 sarpanches would form the electorate.In Jammu, 15,800 panches and 2,289 sarpanches would form the electorate. In Ladakh, 1,414 panches and 192 sarpanches would form the electorate.

“After BDC elections, we will form a revised electoral rolls in which new voters would be added and conduct fresh panchayat elections on the vacant seats as soon as possible,” said Kumar.


The election of chairpersons for 316 BDCs would be held on October 24 and results would be announced on the same day. The entire process would be completed by November 5.

The administration is conducting BDC elections at a time when all the prominent politicians of different regional parties have been detained.

Kumar said that two sarpanches from Baramullah and Kupwara were under preventive detention and rules would be followed to facilitate their participation in the elections. “We have to ensure that development work starts as soon as possible,” said Kumar.