Elections In Jammu And Kashmir Soon? Parties Hopeful Of Polls As EC Delegation Visits Srinagar
Last December, the Supreme Court had directed the poll panel to hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30.
A delegation of the Election Commission of India, which is on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday met the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir to review preparedeness ahead of the Assembly polls in the Union Territory. Following the meeting at the Sher-e-Kashmir Convention Centre in Srinagar, the political party leaders said the poll body assured them that the elections would be conducted within the deadline set by the Supreme Court.
Last December, the Supreme Court had directed the poll panel to hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30.
The five-member team of the Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, will be in Jammu and Kashmir till August 10, raising expectations that the dates for the polls might be announced soon.
After meeting with the Election Commission, Congress leader Ravinder Sharma stated that the poll body had indicated that elections would be held soon. He stated that in today’s meeting, the party presented all the facts to the Election Commission and demanded that the elections be held as soon as possible.
Nasir Aslam Wani, the head of the National Conference (NC) for the Kashmir division, also expressed hope that the elections would be held on time. He also said that the ongoing situation in the UT should not affect the elections, noting that they could have been held in worse conditions, such as in 1996 when there was very low voter turnout.
Citing the safe conduct of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Khurshid Alam emphasised that his party urged the EC to announce the election dates soon. He also mentioned the arrival of one crore tourists and the peaceful completion of the Amarnath Yatra.
"The response we received from Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar indicates that the election announcement will be made soon," Khurshid said.
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party leader Harshdev Singh stated that all parties, except the BJP, want early elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Accusing the BJP of running the UT like its personal territory, Singh said that the saffron party was expoliting the region's culture and language by appointing unfamiliar bureaucrats. He also urged the poll body to not only conduct elections promptly but also restore the statehood.
Meanwhile, the BJP has also supported the idea of holding elections in the valley as soon as possible. BJP's Kashmir in-charge, Surender Ambardar, mentioned that they had told the Election Commission that the elections were long overdue.
"The Election Commission was informed that there has already been a significant delay in holding the elections," Ambardar said.
After meeting the national and regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, the EC team will now hold discussions with the district commissioners and superintendents of police of all districts next. Thereafter, they will be meeting the Chief Election Officer and senior police officers.
On August 9, the team will meet the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, before leaving for Jammu to meet enforcement agencies.
On August 10, the commission will visit Jammu for a review meeting with enforcement agencies. It will also hold a press conference in Jammu to brief the media on the review process.
(With inputs from Asif)
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