Major Admin Reshuffle In Jammu And Kashmir Ahead Of Likely Poll Announcement

A major reshuffle - of around 200 officers - is underway in Jammu and Kashmir Police ranks - new chiefs have been appointed to several districts and senior cops transferred - ahead of the Assembly election expected next month. Also, J&K Police's Intelligence Wing will have a new chief.

The districts of Jammu, Ramban, Kathua, Reasi, Udhampur, Doda, and Poonch, as well as Shopian and Ganderbal in the Kashmir Valley, will get new police chiefs.

This is significant because these areas have seen a worrying increase in terrorism in the past weeks and months, prompting the central government to deploy a new security matrix in the region.

On Wednesday, as a matter of fact, an Army captain and a civilian were killed, and an American-made assault rifle recovered - as forces tracked down four terrorists in a forested area in Doda.

READ | Army Captain Killed In Encounter With 4 Terrorists In J&K's Doda

The reshuffle - questioned by the opposition - comes after senior IPS officer Nalin Prabhat was posted as Special Director-General of the erstwhile state's police force. His appointment is in anticipation of the retirement of his predecessor, RR Swain, who will relinquish his office on September 30.

This reshuffle, which includes changes in governance ranks too, also comes as dates for the J&K Assembly election - pending for nearly a decade - will be announced this evening.

Last year the Election Commission had been directed by the Supreme Court to complete the process by September 30. The court was hearing petitions against the scrapping Article 370 in August 2019, months before a state election was to be held.

The court had dismissed the challenges but ruled that an election was to be held and the process of once again recognising J&K as a state was to be carried out too. J&K had been bifurcated into two UTs - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh - after Article 370 was scrapped.

The Election Commission was in J&K last week to take stock of poll preparations. Addressing reporters there, EC chief Rajiv Kumar declared no internal or external force could stop the election.

READ | On Terror And Elections In J&K, Poll Panel Chief's 'Chicken-Egg' Take

"If any internal or external force thinks they can interfere and derail the election... they are wrong. We are sure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will give a befitting response to disruptive forces."

On the question of an election finally being held, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah said he had "always expected" this would happen and the 8-year-old confirmed he too would contest.

"It has been years since the state had a government... there should be people's representatives who will solve people's problems. Till now, the National Conference had contested elections alone. Rest, we don't know what decision will the other party take, will they contest the elections in alliance or not..."

The last J&K Assembly election was in 2014. The PDP of late former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and the BJP were the big winners with 28 and 25 seats, respectively.

The National Conference of Farooq and Omar Abdullah secured 15 seats and the Congress 12, with the Left, local parties, and independent candidates picking up the remaining seats.

In a surprising turn of events the PDP and the BJP joined hands to form the government. That was the first time the saffron party was a member of a ruling coalition in J&K.

However, four years later there was trouble. The PDP, now led by Mehbooba Mufti following her father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's death, withdrew from the coalition citing multiple reasons, including an upsurge in terrorism in the Valley. The BJP slammed the "untenable" alliance.

J&K was then placed under Governor's Rule, in which status it has remained since.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission is also expected to announce poll dates for Haryana, where the BJP is in power. The party eased to power in the 2019 election, thanks to support from Dushyant Chautala's JJP. However, the two fell out ahead of the general election earlier this year.

Haryana's 10 Lok Sabha seats were divided equally between the Congress and the BJP, suggesting this Assembly election could be tighter than the last.

With input from agencies

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