The process of holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir has been set in motion with chief electoral officer Shailendra Kumar officer convening a meeting to discuss the issue with district polls officers on August 2.
The meeting will discuss the verification programme that allows residents to verify their names in the voters list. It will also cover new registrations, changes in voter details and corrections in the voter ID cards, leading to an overall revision and purification of the electoral rolls of the state, a senior official said.
The meeting is happening in the wake of the BJP central leaders holding a meeting in Delhi on July 30, which was attended by former J&K deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta, the party’s state president Ravinder Raina and spokesperson Ashok Koul.
The meeting discussed the assembly elections as well as the delimitation of the state (which has been barred by state assembly until 2026).
The BJP wants to lift the bar on delimitation by calling for amending the People’s Representation Act through the state’s governor, Satya Pal Malik. Constitutional experts believe the move would need a nod from the President and Parliament.
The BJP believes that delimitation would increase the number of seats in Jammu, which would help it offset the Kashmir region’s advantage in the number of seats of 46 against Jammu’s 37. The party believes that delimitation would allow them to need fewer seats to be able to form the government on their own.
The Election Commission of India has said that it will decide on the dates of the assembly polls in the state after the Amarnath Yatra ends on August 15.
J&K based parties, NC and PDP, have demanded that the election be held at the earliest in the state. The Congress also wants an early election in the state as it, like others, believes that the BJP is using the governor’s rule to brighten its chances of a better showing in the polls.
Governor’s rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the BJP pulled out of the coalition government with the PDP in June 2018. After the expiry of the six months governor rule, the state came under President’s rule, which was extended by six months in June.
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