Why it is in news?
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Jammu and Kashmir is gearing up for simultaneous local body elections to the posts of panch and sarpanch.
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A panch is an elected member of a village ward and a sarpanch is the head of a cluster of wards or a village.
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Earlier the panchs used to elect the sarpanchs.
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This time, there will be two votes ”” one for the panch and the other for the sarpanch; it’s a direct election.
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Voting will be done simultaneously, with a voter will elect the panch as well as the sarpanch.
Plea on 35A hearing
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The State government currently under Governor’s Rule moved a plea in the Supreme Court to defer the hearing in a clutch of petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution
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It cited the upcoming panchayat and urban local body elections.
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Article 35A lets the J&K Legislature decide the “permanent residents” of the State, prohibits a non-J&K resident from buying property in the State and ensures job reservation for its residents.
Polls last held in 2011
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The panchayat elections last held in 2011 could not be conducted for security reasons and because of the tourist season.
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Elections to the urban local bodies were last held in 2005.
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The Police said the administration had conducted an internal review on the abductions and killings of policemen in the Valley.
Source
The Hindu