Shillong: The Meghalaya government is likely to hold the district council elections in February or early March next year.
As per sources, the state government is carefully selecting a date that does not coincide with the state board examinations.
The term of the present House of the two Autonomous District Councils in Khasi Hills and Jaiñtia Hills was supposed to end in March this year.
However, due to the delimitation of constituencies, the term was extended twice for six months each.
With the recent approval of the KHADC (Constitution of District Council) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, and the JHADC (Constitution of District Council) Amendment Bill, 2024, by Megjhalaya Governor CH Vijayashankar, the stage is set for the upcoming council elections.
These elections will be contested under the newly delimited constituencies.
The political parties in the state have geared up for the Autonomous District Council polls.
The Voice of the People Party (VPP) was the first to announce its lists of candidates in all 29 constituencies for both the KHADC and JHADC.
The National People’s Party (NPP) has released its first list of candidates for the upcoming district council elections, which includes 47 names. The list consists of 18 candidates for the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and 29 candidates for the Jaiñtia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC).
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The Khun Hynñiewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) named eight candidates in the first list for the KHADC polls.
The United Democratic Party (UDP), Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Trinamool Congress, and Congress, are yet to announce their candidates.