Election dept. notifies list of 1400 polling stations in Jmu
Setting the process in motion for much awaited assembly polls, election department Jammu has issued a list of 1400 polling stations of all 11 newly delimited assembly constituencies of the district and invited the objections or suggestions from the general public.
AvnyLavasa, deputy commissioner Jammu, who is also District Election Officer (DEO), issued the list of polling stations and asked people to provide suggestions.
“As per the instructions contained in chapter 2.8 of the Hand Book for Returning Officers 2019, the draft list of polling stations of newly delimited Assembly Constituencies of District Jammu has been prepared and is hereby published for the information of all concerned for filing objections/suggestions within a period of seven days from the date of its publication,” a communication issued by District Election Officer, AvnyLavasa reads.
It further said that the objections or suggestions should be filed in writing to the undersigned within the prescribed time. The objections/suggestions received after the prescribed date shall not be entertained
As per the draft, Jammu district would have total 1400 polling stations in all 11 re-drawn assembly segments, following delimitation of union territory, which increased the seats from 83 to 90 in the house.
Earlier, The Election Commission (EC) has begun the process of electoral rolls revision in Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of three years, in an indication that polls could be held soon.
She also assured the representatives of various political parties that the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would be trained and sensitized regarding the post delimitation exercise and a separate camp will be organised at polling stations for the inclusion of new voters and correction in the names.
The assurance was given on the concern raised by the representatives– regarding the inclusion of news voters, correction in names, duplication of votes, relocation of polling stations etc. amongst others– during the convening of a meeting with political parties at the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Jammu.
In the meeting, Lavasa discussed the post delimitation exercises including rationalization of polling stations, a list of draft polling stations after the formation of new constituencies, and the addition and deletion of voters in the list, amongst others. The Deputy Commissioner informed the representatives that a list of draft polling stations after the formation of new constituencies has been released and also asked them to submit their suggestions and objections within a week.
“Summary revision would be started from September 1 and it will be concluded on September 30, she said. Deputy DEO Mushtaq Choudhary, representatives of Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and other political parties were also present in the meeting.
As per an order, the Election Commission has directed special summary revision (SSR) of photo electoral rolls with October 1, 2022 as the qualifying date in Jammu and Kashmir. The pre-revision activities will culminate on August 30.
Accordingly, the EC has directed J&K Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar to complete the SSR of the electoral rolls by the end of October.
The EC order comes days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that Assembly elections in the Union Territory may be held by the end of the year.
This was the first such indication of a timeline for assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir, following the political debacle in 2018, when ruling BJP withdraw support from PDP and dragged the then state towards Governor Rule.
The revision of electoral rolls is significant as the exercise is being carried out for the first time since the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Before the abrogation, only the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir, popularly known as state subjects, were eligible to vote. The summary revision would also allow, for the first time, the displaced people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), Gorkhas, and people of Valmiki Samaj to apply for voting rights in the Assembly elections. In the past, they were allowed to vote in the parliamentary
In August 2019, the State of J&K lost its special status following the abrogation of Article 370 and was downgraded to a Union Territory — the State’s bifurcation led to the creation of a separate UT of Ladakh.
After that Union Government constituted a delimitation commission for Jammu and Kashmir, which had submitted its final report on May 5, 2022, two years after it was appointed to redraw the electoral boundaries in Jammu and Kashmir as per the mandate set by the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
The commission redraws the boundaries of assembly segments and recommended seven additional constituencies – six for Jammu and one for Kashmir – taking the total number of seats in the UT to 90 from 83 earlier.
This will increase the number of seats in the Jammu Division to 43 from 37 seats earlier, and that in the Kashmir Valley to 47 from 46 earlier.
