Panchayat, Assembly elections should be held with Lok Sabha polls: AJKPC

Srinagar, Nov 24 (PTI) The All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) on Friday said the panchayat and Assembly elections should be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in the Union Territory.

“The panchayat elections should be held in Jammu and Kashmir before January 9 to fulfil the constitutional and democratic requirements. Elections should be held simultaneously for the panchayats, Assembly and the Parliament,” president of the panchayat conference Anil Sharma told reporters in Srinagar.

Sharma said the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be given the right to elect their new representatives.

“The decision to defer the polls is unconstitutional and undemocratic and we are fighting against it. If the government can hold the Parliament elections, why not the Assembly and panchayat polls? They have made preparations for the Lok Sabha polls, they have appointed the nodal officer, why cannot they hold other elections?” he added.

Responding to a question, Sharma said the security situation was conducive for holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We believe that the situation is good enough for holding elections. The government is also saying that the situation is good. After formation of the Union Territory, the perspective of the government towards democracy has changed. Elections were held in 2011 (panchayat) and in 2014 (Assembly and Lok Sabha). That was a time when people were not participating in the elections. Today, the people are demanding holding of elections in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.

Sharma alleged the aim of the BJP government is to win the five Lok Sabha seats of Jammu and Kashmir. “They are making the rural population of the Union Territory the sacrificial lamb for it.”

Sharma said the government was raising the issue of delimitation in the panchayats as a delaying tactic for holding the polls.

“…Why did the government not do it last year? The delimitation exercise requires eight to nine months. They should have done it last year,” he said.