Amidst heavy security, dates of J&K municipal, panchayat polls announced

Srinagar, Sep 1: The local body polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in October this year. The municipal polls will be held in October which would be followed by the panchayat elections, the Jammu and Kashmir State Administrative Council headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik said.

The municipal polls will be conducted in four phases and polling will be held between October 1 and 5. Panchayat elections will be conducted in eight phases between November 8 and December 4.

Governor Satya Pal Malik after holding extensive deliberations on various aspects and receiving feedback from the departments of Housing & Urban Development, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Home department decided to "commence the formal process for conducting Municipal Body and Panchayat elections in the state".

Panchayat polls have not been held in the state since 2011.

The state chief electoral officer has been directed by the SAC to fix the polling schedule keeping in view security, operational and polling requirements.