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Jammu and Kashmir assembly election: Government sets up helpdesk for displaced Kashmiri voters nationwide
The Jammu and Kashmir government has set up a helpdesk to assist displaced Kashmiri voters and improve facilities ahead of the assembly elections.
As assembly election preparations ramp up in Jammu and Kashmir, the relief and rehabilitation department has set up a helpdesk to assist eligible voters from the displaced Kashmiri community living across the country.
The initiative aims to ensure smooth polling at special polling stations and through postal ballots. Officials said the department has intensified efforts to ensure free and fair elections for Kashmiri migrants, with the Election Commission setting up 24 special polling stations and a postal ballot scheme for displaced voters in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi.
“A helpdesk has been established in our office and across various zones. Several employees have been deployed to ensure seamless facilitation of migrant polling,” PTI quoted relief and rehabilitation commissioner Arvind Karwani as saying.
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He said the helpdesk is actively addressing issues faced by migrants to improve voter facilities ahead of the assembly elections starting September 18.
“Kashmiri migrant voters opting to vote in person via electronic voting machines (EVMs) will have access to 24 polling stations, including 19 in Jammu, 1 in Udhampur, and 4 in Delhi,” added Karwani.
Karwani, who is overseeing the control room for the helpdesk, assured that all necessary arrangements have been made at the polling stations in line with Election Commission of India guidelines.
The ECI issued a notification on August 22 detailing voting options for Kashmiri migrants, including both in-person voting at special polling stations and postal ballots.
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“Special polling stations have been set up in Udhampur, Delhi, and Jammu. Alternatively, Kashmiri migrants can opt for postal ballots,” he said.
Karwani said the updated electoral rolls, which include details of migrant electors in various zones of Jammu and Udhampur mapped to their respective special polling stations will be published soon.
The 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir are set to go to the polls in three phases starting September 18, with vote counting scheduled for October 4.
With PTI inputs
