CEC interacts with political parties, officials
Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 12: Almost all the political parties today urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.
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Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with other officials arrived here on Monday for a three-day visit to the UT. The panel started two-day consultations with stakeholders to review preparedness for the upcoming general elections.
The panel members held interactions with delegations from the National Conference (NC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (CPIM), Congress, and the Aam Admi Party.
National Conference leader Nasir Aslam Wani, who led his party’s delegation, said they impressed upon the ECI for holding Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir together with the Lok Sabha polls.
“We told the Commission that it has been 10 years that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been deprived of their democratic rights. So, the Assembly elections will be held along with Lok Sabha polls. The Commission gave us a patient hearing,” he told reporters.
He said conducting two elections separately in a year would disturb Jammu and Kashmir’s economy.
“The tourism sector here is very vibrant and people are expecting a huge rush of tourists. So, if two elections are held in a year (separately), then the economic activity will be disrupted. Also, it is the Prime Minister’s dream to have one nation, one election. So why not start that from Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Wani said the party delegation also told the Election Commission that people here have apprehensions that the elections would not be fair. The EC should ensure a level playing field in the elections, he said.
NC leader Sakina Ittoo said that she told the ECI that holding both elections simultaneously would be beneficial, especially in terms of security expenditure.
“I conveyed to them that if elections were not conducted immediately, they would coincide with the Amarnath Yatra. I emphasized that it wouldn’t be a significant challenge for the government,” she added.
Rattan Lal Gupta and Ajay Sadhotra were also part of the NC delegation PDP leader Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura said his party also batted for holding Assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously. “It is now up to the Election Commission to decide on this,” he told reporters after the meeting.
“We also raised the issue of service voters, and we were informed that the list will be made public,” he said.
BJP leader R S Pathania said that his party is ready for simultaneous polls. He demanded that polling booths be set up at places outside the UT where the members of the Kashmiri Pandit community have been living to facilitate their voting.
“We discussed the ease of casting votes to maximize the voting percentage. We believe that for a democratic setup, elections are essential. We advocated for early assembly elections in J&K. If there is a preference for simultaneous elections, we are prepared for them,” he said
CPI (M) leader, Muhammad Abbas said that their delegation demanded simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls in J&K.
After the meeting with political parties, the poll panel held a detailed review of the election preparedness with District Election Officers and Superintendents of Police.
The ECI later interacted with Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole and Nodal Officers of the police.
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