J&K Security On Agenda, Poll Commission To Meet Home Secretary Tomorrow

The Election Commission will hold a meeting with Home secretary Ajay Bhalla tomorrow to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, sources have said.

Recently a delegation of the Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had reviewed the poll preparations in Jammu and Kashmir, where elections are expected later this year.

At a press conference in Jammu, Mr Kumar had emphasised that the Commission is committed to holding the elections in the Union Territory at the earliest. No outside or internal forces can derail the electoral process, he had said.

Last month, the Commission had asked the Union Territory administration to transfer out officers posted in their home districts, an exercise it holds ahead of conducting elections.

The Commission's announcement came after the Supreme Court, in December last year, directed the Commission to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30.

Mr Kumar had also welcomed the record turnout in the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir. "This active participation is a huge positive for assembly elections to be held soon so that the democratic process continues to thrive in the Union Territory," he had said.

Jammu and Kashmir has not had an elected government since June 2018 and there was expectation in 2019 that the assembly elections would be held along with the general election that year.

But the Election Commission had refused, citing the security situation. In August, Jammu and Kashmir's special status granted under the constitution was revoked and the state was split into two Union Territories.

Following delimitation, the number of assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir has gone up from 83 to 90.