It has not been able to conduct any elections since April 2017, when the Srinagar parliamentary by-poll recorded a meagre turnout of around 7%. Panchayat elections are non-party-based and largely about micro issues. We have kept 300 hotel rooms in Srinagar for candidates who want to stay under security and made similar arrangements in all districts of South Kashmir and North Kashmir. And it is just an accident that the case is listed in January when these elections will be completed. Once the system settles down, people will realise this is not about politics but about basic issues,” he said.

Source: Economic Times September 26, 2018 02:48 UTC