A Jammu and Kashmir assembly committee reviewing local governance has recommended that panchayat and municipal elections be conducted in three phases aligned with the delimitation exercise completed last year, according to a report tabled this week.
Committee members said staggering the polls would allow the State Election Commission more time to verify electoral rolls in newly reorganised wards, particularly in border districts where population movement has been highest.
Opposition members on the panel had pushed for a single-phase election, arguing that delays risk leaving local bodies without elected representatives for longer. The government is expected to respond to the recommendations in the next assembly session.
