EC begins revision of electoral rolls in J&K after delimitation
HT Correspondent
SRINAGAR: The Election Commission (EC) has initiated the revision of electoral rolls in Jammu & Kashmir following the delimitation exercise and has asked officials in the Union territory to prepare the draft rolls by August 31, officials from the J&K administration said on condition of anonymity – taking the region a step closer to its first elections since it was made a UT in 2019.
In May, the delimitation commission submitted its final report to government which was accepted. It was assigned the task of redrawing the Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies in J&K following revocation of Articles 370 and 35A and a reorganisation act that split the erstwhile state into two UTS, J&K, and Ladakh. The Union government promised that it would hold elections to the UT of J&K, and consider the restoration of its statehood.
The Commission proposed six more seats for the Jammu division, taking its total to 43 and one for Kashmir, taking its total to 47, in a total of 90 seats.
The delimitation panel – comprising Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai as its chairperson and chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra and state election commissioner KK Sharma as members – was set up on March 6, 2020, with a one-year term.
However, in the wake of the Covid pandemic, its term was extended by one year on March 6, 2021.
Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and election commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey recently carried out a review and directed the Jammu & Kashmir chief electoral officer to map the redrawn assembly constituencies, according to J&K officials familiar with the developments.
The changes made mean there is a need to revise electoral rolls, identify fresh polling stations and define the boundaries of the assembly segments, the officials added.
They said that the process is mandatory before holding the first assembly elections in the
UT, adding that this could happen as early as the end of this year.
Officials said that intensive and time-bound pre-revision activities are required due to the redrawing of electoral constituencies.
Directions have also been given for the appointment of officials for the work on updating voter list, news agency PTI reported.
Local politicians said it is time elections are held.
National Conference chief spokesman, Tanvir Sadiq, said: “The inordinate delay in conducting elections to the state assembly has unfortunately taken its toll on the functioning of administration. People need an elected government to redress their grievances,” he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state spokesman Altaf Thakur said this is an important and mandatory step before elections are held.
“The Centre had already said that after the delimitation exercise, elections will be held in the UT and this step is towards that direction only.”
The erstwhile legislative assembly had 87 seats – 46 in Kashmir, 37 in Jammu and four in Ladakh. In the reorganisation of the erstwhile state, Ladakh was declared as a separate UT without a legislature. Five Jammu and Kashmir Lok Sabha members – three from the National Conference and two from the BJP – were associate members of the commission.
READ: J&K Delimitation Panel met over 200 delegations