Democracy On Hold In Jammu And Kashmir? No Civic Body Polls In Sight

The grassroots democracy in Jammu and Kashmir appears to be at a crossroads, as polls are nowhere in sight for local urban bodies and panchayats. They were last held in 2018 and their five-year term is coming to an end. Besides two municipal corporations in Srinagar and Jammu, there are 76 urban local bodies, 4,490 village panchayats and over 35,000 Panchs in J&K. The former state has also been without an elected government for more than five years.