Jammu, Mar 8: Jammu and Kashmir’s State Election Commission kicks off Panchayat election prep Monday with a fresh electoral rolls update, setting April 1, 2026, as the cutoff—meaning 18-year-olds by then get to vote.
SEC chief Shantmanu rescheduled a key meeting to March 9 after Kashmir DCs juggled Valley protests over Iran’s leader killing; they’ll hash out rolls revision (last done Jan 2025), ballot boxes, and more. Panchayat secretaries step up as booth officers.
Municipal rolls skip this round, pulling from Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision come April. Bodies like Panchayats, BDCs, DDCs, and Municipalities await polls—terms lapsed last year—pending OBC quota tweaks from Justice Kotwal’s report.
Delimitation stays put, signaling overdue local democracy reboot in the U
