E-Paper
EC begins revision of electoral rolls in J&K; draft to be prepared by August 31
After the completion of the delimitation exercise as EC has initiated the revision of electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir, mainstream political parties see it as a process ahead of first polls of UT
After the completion of the delimitation exercise as the Election Commission (EC) has initiated the revision of electoral rolls in J&K, the mainstream political parties see it as a process ahead of the first polls of the UT.
The EC has asked the officials to complete electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir and the draft rolls should be prepared by August 31.
In May, the Delimitation Commission submitted the final report to the government which was accepted. The commission had been assigned the task of redrawing the Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies in J&K following the revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A which paved the way for the J&K Reorganisation Act in 2019.
In the first draft proposal, the commission had proposed six seats for the Jammu division and one for Kashmir, and it was not changed in the fresh draft proposal published in gazettes and has been kept the same in the final report also.
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 carried out a review and directed the Jammu and Kashmir chief electoral officer to map the redrawn assembly constituencies. Officials said that since a lot of changes have been made during the delimitation process so there is a need to carry out revision of electoral rolls, fresh polling stations and the boundaries of the assembly segments.
Officials said the process is mandatory before holding the first assembly elections in the UT. Sources said the elections could be held by the end of this year or next year.
National Conference chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said, “We have been constantly saying that no way can Governors’ rule or few bureaucrats replace the elected members of the assembly. The present state of affairs in the state is known to everyone. The inordinate delay in conducting elections to the state assembly has unfortunately taken its toll on the functioning of the administration. People need an elected government to redress their grievances.”
BJP state spokesman Altaf Thakur said that this process was mandatory before holding the assembly elections in UT. “The Centre had already said that after delimitation exercise the elections will be held in the UT and this is a step towards that direction only.”
Peoples Conference spokesman Adnan Ashraf said that after the delimitation process the elections should be held in J&K. “The good governance can only be given by the representatives of the people. Hopefully, polls will be held soon.”
