With Home Minister’s visit to the valley, buzz grows louder around Assembly elections in J & K
New Delhi: The discussion of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir has once again intensified due to the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. After the completion of the delimitation, the Election Commission in Jammu and Kashmir has started preparations for the assembly elections. At the same time, on the matter of elections in the state, Home Minister Amit Shah said that assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir after the Election Commission completes the exercise of publication of the revised voter list.
He said that we have started the political process. I want to assure you that once the Election Commission completes the work of publication of electoral rolls, elections will be conducted with complete transparency and your own elected representatives will rule here.
Now the question arises that when will the elections be held in Jammu and Kashmir. Elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are possible only after the month of February next year. In fact, it is impossible to conduct elections in Jammu and Kashmir in the months of December, January and February due to snowfall in the cold season, that is why if elections are not held in October, November, then elections will be held after February, that is, in March or after that.
Preparations for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir
In view of the preparations for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, a first-level verification (FLC) of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be done. A team of Deputy Commissioners of all the 10 districts of the Valley and the Election Commission of India will participate in the workshop. An official said that preparations are on for the assembly elections. However, the date of election will be announced by the Election Commission. Jammu and Kashmir does not have an assembly since November 2018. After the fall of the PDP-BJP coalition government, the then Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the assembly.
Election Commission gears up for assembly elections
The Center and the Lieutenant Governor’s administration have been saying that assembly elections will be held in this union territory after the completion of the delimitation and other electoral process. This year the delimitation process of constituencies has been completed and the Election Commission has started the work of revision of voter list last month. This process is being done for the first time after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was abolished in the year 2019.
Revised voter list may be issued by 31 October
Officials said there are indications that elections may be held after the voter list revision work is completed. He said that preparations are in full swing for this. The official said, “The delimitation has been completed. Voter list revision work is going on and it is expected to be over soon. The Election Commission has fixed October 31 as the deadline for releasing the revised electoral rolls. The ‘rationalisation’ of polling stations is also being done and is expected to be completed this month.
What is the status of seats in Jammu and Kashmir after delimitation?
In fact, recently, after 26 months of exercise, the delimitation of Assembly and Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir has been done. There are a total of 90 Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir and for the first time 9 seats have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Apart from this, for the first time in all the 5 Lok Sabha seats of Jammu and Kashmir, 18-18 assembly seats have been kept equally. That is, there will be 18 assembly seats in the boundary of one Lok Sabha constituency. There are 43 seats in the Jammu region and 47 in the Kashmir region. The boundary of any one assembly constituency has not been kept in more than one district.
