All eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Jammu & Kashmir on April 24, his first tour in the over two-and-a-half years after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre decided to end the erstwhile State’s special constitutional status under Articles 370 and 35(A) and split it into two Union Territories, on August 5, 2019.
On the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day, Mr. Modi will address grassroots representatives in Jammu. They were elected in November-December 2020, when panchayat elections were held after 15 months.
In a speech on August 15, 2019, Mr. Modi had promised to return Statehood “at an appropriate time” and hold elections in J&K, which has remained under Central rule since June 2018.