National Conference to boycott J&K local body and panchayat polls if no clarity on Article 35-A

By Kashmir Age Online Last updated Sep 5, 2018

Srinagar | The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference will boycott the upcoming panchayat and urban local body elections unless the Centre spells its stand on the contentious Article 35-A, which is being challenged in the Supreme Court.

“The core group (of NC) unanimously decided that the National Conference will not participate in these elections unless and until the government of India and the state government clarify their positions in this regard and take effective steps for protection of Article 35-A in and outside the courts,” party president Farooq Abdullah said Wednesday.

He said the decision of the state administration to hold urban local body polls and panchayat elections was taken in a “hurried manner” and without taking into consideration the prevailing situation “created by the powers that be by unnecessarily fiddling with Article 35-A”.

The National Conference, had, prior to the announcement of the polls by former Governor NN Vohra, expressed their reservations for conducting these elections citing security concerns for candidates.

The Joint Resistance Leadership — the alliance of separatist leadership in Kashmir had on Monday announced a boycott of the panchayat and ULB polls.

The State Administrative Council (SAC), headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik, announced on August 30, that the elections to Municipal Bodies in the state will be conducted in four phases between October 1, 2018 and October 5, 2018. Meanwhile, elections to Panchayats, that have not been held in the state since 2011, will be conducted in eight phases between November 8, 2018 and 4th December, 2018.