Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and other officials of the poll panel, who arrived in Srinagar on Monday for a three-day visit to J&K, held interactions with delegations from the National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), BJP, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress, and the Apni Party, officials said
Leader of various Jammu and Kashmir political parties on Tuesday urged the Election Commission of India to hold assembly elections simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls as the panel started two-day consultations with stakeholders to review preparedness for the upcoming general elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expressed readiness for simultaneous polls as well. Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and other officials of the poll panel, who arrived in Srinagar on Monday for a three-day visit to J&K, held interactions with delegations from the National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), BJP, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress, and the Apni Party, officials said.
On Wednesday, Kumar will meet lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and administration officials in Jammu, they added.
NC vice-president Omar Abdullah said that a four-member delegation, led by senior leader Nasir Aslam Wani, demanded assembly polls along with Lok Sabha polls. “Let us see what ECI does now,” he said.
Senior NC leader and former minister Sakina Ittoo, who was a part of the NC delegation, said that party members told ECI that if situation is feasible for Lok Sabha polls, why not the same yardstick be applied for assembly polls. “We told them that from past ten years, people of J&K are waiting for assembly polls,” he said.
The PDP delegation was led by party general secretary Ghulam Nabi Hanjura and told the ECI officials that alongside assembly polls, there should be level playing field for all political parties.
“We informed him (CEC) there are reports that 70,000 service voters have been added in J&K, so we wanted clarity if it’s true, Assembly-wise list should also be provided to us,” said PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari. He said the party delegation also conveyed to the ECI that polls for Lok Sabha should be held in a single phase.
The BJP delegation, led by former assembly member RS Pathania, also conveyed to ECI that assembly polls should be held. “We demanded easing the process of voting for common people, especially for migrant pandits, so that there would be high voting percentage,” Pathania said.
The CPI(M) delegation also demanded early assembly polls in J&K. “Like other political parties, our emphasis was also on early assembly polls in J&K,” said a member of party delegation.
Almost all the political parties have been demanding assembly polls in J&K. Last year an all party delegation led by NC president Farooq Abdullah also met chief election commissioner in New Delhi and urged him for assembly polls in J&K.
After the meeting with political parties, the poll panel will hold a detailed review of the election preparedness with district election officers and superintendents of police, officials said.
In the evening, the election commission officials will interact with Jammu and Kashmir chief electoral officer PK Pole and nodal officers of the state police. The Supreme Court had also ordered that assembly polls be held in J&K before September 30.
