JK Governor meets Rajnath, discusses panchayat polls

New Delhi: Newly appointed Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik today met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and is believed to have discussed about the forthcoming election to local bodies in the state, officials said.

During the half-an-hour meeting, Singh and Malik also discussed about the prevailing law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is currently under the governor’s rule. They discussed about the forthcoming panchayat polls, a Home Ministry official said.

The panchayat election to elect 4,130 sarpanch and 29,719 panch is expected to be held later next month. The election to the local bodies were last held in 2011 after a long hiatus.

The election to the local bodies were supposed to be held in 2016 but could not be conducted due to the five-month-long unrest in the Kashmir Valley, following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8 that year.

Malik yesterday called on President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He took oath as the 13th governor of Jammu and Kashmir on August 23, replacing N N Vohra.

The newly appointed Governors of Bihar and Haryana Lalji Tandon and Satyadev Narayan Arya respectively also met the home minister.