Committed to conducting polls in J-K at earliest: CEC Rajiv Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Friday said that the Election Commission is “committed” to conducting polls in Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest, adding that the people of J-K will give a befitting response to “disruptive forces.”

Addressing a press conference on preparedness for Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, CEC Rajiv Kumar said, “We are committed to conducting elections at the earliest and we will not let any internal or external forces derail the election. We are sure that the people of J-K will give a befitting response to disruptive forces.”

CEC further said that all parties in Jammu and Kashmir are “batting strongly” for holding assembly elections.

“We met the state’s national and recognized parties. All of them praised the public and Election Commission for the successful Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir. They all said it was a historic achievement, it had good participation, and no incident (of violence) took place which has boosted people’s confidence. All the parties demanded that the Assembly polls be held at the earliest. All the parties demanded that there be public elected representatives in J-K, who have a better connect with locals. More or less all the political parties, except one or two, also wanted that a level playing field be established,” he added.

Rajiv Kumar further said that everyone’s perception was that everyone should get equal security.

“They had another demand. There was a review of the security of political functionaries in the state in which the security of some of them was downgraded, some did not get it and the security of some was upgraded. Their perception was that everyone should get equal security so that they can get involved in political activities without any fear, irrespective of the party they are from,” he said.

He further said that if there is any name missing in the final list, it will be published by August 20.

He said, “We appeal that all should check their names in the Electoral rolls”.

There are a total of 90 assembly constituencies, of which 74 are General, nine are ST and seven are SC.

In Jammu and Kashmir, there are 87.09 lakh total electors. Of which 44.46 lakh are male, 42.62 female, 169 are Transgender, 82,590 PwDs, 73943 very senior citizens, 2660 centenarians, 76092 service electors, and 3.71 lakh are first-time voters.

Meanwhile, directions were given to Enforcement Agencies, DMs, and SPs to ensure free, fair, and inducement-free elections.

Earlier on Thursday, a delegation of the Election Commission of India (ECI) led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar reached Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar to review poll preparedness ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in the Union Territory.

Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were part of the delegation apart from CEC Rajiv Kumar in the review visit.

In December of last year, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to conclude the election process by September 30, 2024.

Jammu and Kashmir will witness elections after a gap of ten years as the last assembly election was held in 2014. The PDP-BJP coalition government fell in June 2018 when the latter withdrew support to the then-Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti.