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Srinagar : The Election Commission of India will meet with political parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to discuss preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir has sent out invitations to various parties for these discussions.
The Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and accompanied by Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu, will visit Jammu and Kashmir from August 8-10 to assess the readiness for the elections, which must be held by the Supreme Court’s September 30 deadline.
During their visit, the Commission will meet with political parties, review preparations with election officers, police, and central forces, and hold a press conference in Jammu. This will be the first Assembly election since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir into Union Territories in 2019. The number of Assembly seats has increased from 83 to 90 following a recent delimitation exercise.
Earlier, the Election Commission of India has asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to transfer out officers posted in their home districts, a routine exercise it holds before conducting elections.
The order assumes significance as it indicates that assembly polls in the Union Territory are imminent. The poll panel has issued similar directions to the chief secretaries of Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand, the three states going to assembly polls later this year.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under Central rule since June 19, 2018, following the collapse of a coalition government headed by the People’s Democratic Party’s Mehbooba Mufti after the pullout of its alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP). Manoj Sinha is the present Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of the UT.
Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have repeatedly said that assembly polls will be held in the UT. PM Modi has said the statehood status of J-K will also be restored
While upholding the abrogation of special status, the Supreme Court had last year ordered the Election Commission to hold Assembly elections in J&K by September 30, 2024.(KNS)
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