Jammu, Sep 15: The municipal elections in the state of Jammu and Kashmir will be held in four phases in October this year. According to details by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Shaleen Kabra, the urban local body polls in the state will be held on October 8, October 10, October 13 and October 16. The counting of votes shall take place on October 20 after all the phases are over. The Chief Electoral Officer informed that the voting in the state will be held from 7 AM to 2 PM.

During a press conference in Srinagar, Kabra informed that the notification for phase 1 will be issued on September 18 while the notifications for phase 2, 3 and 4 will be issued on September 20, 22 and 24 respectively. He further informed that nearly 17 lakh voters are registered for the polls.

On Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik requested political parties to participate in the elections so that a new government is formed in the state. "Matter of Article 35 A is sub-judice for a long time. We had said that we can't take a stand until a new govt is formed here. I would like to request them to participate in the election. Elections are neither for Delhi nor me but for the people of J&K", Malik was quoted by ANI.

The State Administrative Council (SAC) had in August announced the dates for urban body elections and panchayat elections. During the SAC meeting that was headed by J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik, it was decided to conduct the municipal elections in four phases, followed by the panchayat polls in eight phases.

J&K has been under Governor’s rule since June 20 after the BJP broke the 3-year old alliance with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Malik replaced Narendra Nath Vohra, who was given a two-month extension after completing 10 years as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

The spokesperson of SAC had said that voter education will be given a special focus. For this purpose, the government will launch a sustained campaign to sensitise the voters about the importance of these elections in the socio-economic development at the grassroots level.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2018 06:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).