PDP to boycott local body and panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar: Following the footsteps of National Conference, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said on Monday that her party has decided to boycott local body and panchayat polls in the state scheduled from next month.

Mufti also asked the Centre to review the decision to hold elections in J&K at present. “Situation linking panchayat polls case pending in Supreme Court about Article 35A has created apprehensions in minds of people. Party, therefore, urges the government to review its decision to hold polls at this juncture,” the PDP chief said.

She added, “Looking at this situation, we have decided to stay away from this process”.

Earlier, the National Conference has already said that it will boycott the panchayat elections and even the 2019 Lok Sabha elections if the Centre does not take



steps to protect Article 35A.

"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 35A in and outside the courts," party chief Farooq Abdullah had said.

While the urban local body polls are slated for the first week of October, the panchayat elections are scheduled to be held in November-December this year.

Article 35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and bars people from outside the state from acquiring any immovable property in the state.

The article has been challenged in the Supreme Court.