There is going to be a big political stir after the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir. The Election Commission today issued a notification for the by-elections for vacant Panch-Sarpanch posts in the state, announcing that these by-elections will be conducted in eight phases. Not only this, this Panchayat by-election will be purely on political grounds. The first phase of voting will take place on 5 March while the last phase will be held on 20 March.

This information was given by the Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir during the press conference. He said that the panchayati system in Jammu and Kashmir will be strengthened after the by-elections are held. Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in December 2018. Elections could not be held in many panchayat circles in Kashmir due to boycott of these elections of National Conference, People's Conference and threats from terrorist organizations. Apart from this, the seats of those members have also become vacant after becoming BDC chairman.

Of the 20093 Panch-Sarpanch circles in Kashmir, 12565 are vacant. Only 6162 Panch and 1366 Sarmpach have been elected. In Jammu province, 15800 Panch and 2289 Sarpanchs were elected while 166 seats of Panch-Sarpanch are vacant. Elections have been held for 1414 Panch and 192 Sarpanch seats in Ladakh province while 45 seats are lying vacant.

In Kashmir province, 922 sarpanch and 11774 panchs are lying vacant while in Jammu province 145 sarpanch and 320 panch hulak will be held. In Baramulla, 2310 panch-sarpanches are lightly empty, while 2130 in Anantnag, 2097 in Budgam, 1588 in Pulwama and 1353 panch-sarpanch in Kulgam are lying lightly empty. Elections will be held in 712 in Bandipore, 731 in Ganderbal, 796 in Kupwara, 815 in Shopian, 164 Panch-Sarpanch circles in Srinagar. Elections are yet to be held in district Kishtwar in Jammu province, 55 in Jammu, 47 in Ramban, 45 in Kathua, 42 in Doda, 41 in Rajouri, 38 in Poonch, 25 in Samba and 22 in Reasi district.

Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir, Shailendra Kumar said that in view of the better conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, it has been decided to hold a by-election to fill these vacant posts. Not only this, the pace of development in the panchayats will be fast if all the seats are filled. People of these panchayat circles were also demanding filling up of vacant posts for a long time.