Attack casts shadow on assembly, LS polls

AN OFFICIAL SAID THE CHANCES OF HOLDING ASSEMBLY POLLS ALONG WITH THE LS ELECTIONS APPEAR DIM FOLLOWING THE SUICIDE ATTACK.

NEWDELHI: The suicide strike that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force troops in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama has cast a shadow on the Lok Sabha elections and the assembly poll in the state.

The Election Commission (EC) had scheduled a meeting on Monday to discuss J&K’s poll preparedness, but it is not clear whether state officials can make it to Delhi for the meeting.

According to a person aware of developments, the J&K chief electoral officer, chief secretary and the director general of police, apart from home ministry officials, were expected at the meeting in the Election Commission headquarters.

Earlier, the Centre was exploring the possibility of holding the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls along with the general elections slated for April-May. The state has been under President’s Rule from mid-December after six months of Governor’s Rule, which was imposed after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led coalition government headed by Mehbooba Mufti in June last year.

The biggest challenge for the Election Commission will be to conduct polls in the constituencies of Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag, said another person aware of developments.

After security forces and the state administration flagged hostile conditions in J&K for holding polls, the by-elections to Anantnag parliamentary constituency were deferred indefinitely. The seat has been vacant since July 2016, when PDP chief Mehbooba resigned following the death of her father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

The by-elections to Srinagar parliamentary constituency in April 2017 saw an abysmal voter turnout of 7.13%, the lowest ever in its electoral history.

A senior government official speaking on condition of anonymity said the chances of holding assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha elections appear dim following the suicide attack.

“Much depends on the level of the intensity and the ground situation in the coming days. It also depends on the response and the steps taken by the government vis-à-vis Pakistan. As of now, the broad thinking in the government is that the assembly elections should be postponed,” he said.

The state commission had earlier indicated to the EC that it would be more propitious to not hold J&K assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls.

Political leaders are also divided in their opinion on the election schedule.