Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Friday said the Election Commission of India (ECI) was committed to hold elections at the earliest in J&K and no internal or external forces will be allowed to derail the democratic process.
“Time has come to give the people of J&K its own government through elections. We are committed to conducting elections at the earliest. We are sure that people of J&K will give a befitting response to disruptive forces. No internal or external intervention will be allowed to derail the democratic process. We are all prepared for it,” said CEC Kumar, who was accompanied by Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu.
Recalling the participation of voters in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, Mr. Kumar praised the people of J&K for their enthusiasm and festivities observed in April-May this year. J&K saw a record 58% polling in the Lok Sabha polls.
“Participation of voters during the Lok Sabha elections was praiseworthy. The world got to see lone queues and praised your courage and passion. This has filled us all with hope. What could not happen for many decades, you made it happen by participating in elections. You have chosen democracy, peace and goodwill,” Mr. Kumar said.
He said voters of J&K had set the bar high for the ECI. “Voter turnout has set a new standard in J&K. The challenge is to take it further. We need to create a structure of hopefulness on the foundation laid by people of J&K,” he said.
The ECI, however, did not announce the dates for the elections. “As far the exact dates, we will conduct a final security requirement assessment back in Delhi and announce the poll dates accordingly,” Mr. Kumar said.
The Supreme Court, in its judgement on provisions of Article 370 in December last year, had passed directions on holding elections in J&K by September 30, 2024. J&K saw the last Assembly elections in 2014 and remains under the Central rule since 2018. All parties, during their meeting with the ECI, urged to abide by the SC timeline on elections.
Mr. Kumar, however, hinted at announcing the dates after the Amarnath yatra will conclude in J&K. “The publication of final electoral rolls will be concluded by August 20 and circulated among the political parties,” Mr. Kumar said. The participation of nomadic voters will also be considered.
The ECI team met nine national and regional political parties during their two-day tour of J&K, which concluded on Friday (August 9, 2024). It also held meetings with top security officials, including the Director General of Police, and the officers of the civil administration for their feedback on elections.
Mr. Kumar said the ECI committed to address the concerns raised by the political parties during the meeting. “All polling booths will have CCTV cameras. Security of leaders and workers will be reviewed and will be provided in an impartial manner. No last-minute clubbing of polling booths will be done,” Mr. Kumar said.
He said election campaigning will be made easy by granting online permissions to political parties for rallies. “Once permission is granted, no informal restrictions will be allowed to disallow public rallies. Any complaint received about the partiality of officials will attract strict actions. The administration will also take strict action against those trying to derail the election process,” Mr. Kumar said.
He said a major crackdown on misuse of drugs and liquor will start in J&K. “The district magistrate will be first responders to fake news and negative narratives and act within an hour. No fake news should be allowed to go viral online,” Chief Election Commissioner Kumar said.
After the latest delimitation, J&K now has 90 assembly segments. It includes 74 general category seats, nine reserved for Scheduled Tribes and seven for the Schedule Caste.
Mr. Kumar said the ECI has already taken measures to do away with cumbersome processes for Kashmiri Pandit migrants “to ensure their participation” in the elections.
Published - August 09, 2024 03:54 pm IST
