The Election Commission of India held a meeting with officials of the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the assembly polls that are likely to take place between September and October and are aimed at giving Statehood to the Union Territory (UT).
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The Supreme Court, hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370, tasked the Centre last December to conduct elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30.
Before holding the assembly polls for 90 seats, of which 74 are for general candidates, 9 for ST (scheduled tribe) and 7 for SC (scheduled caste), J&K also has to conclude elections to panchayats and urban bodies.
Sources said that the ECI-MHA meeting discussed security arrangements, deployment of forces, and security cover for EC officials and candidates. The spurt in violence too figured in the discussion amid Pakistan’s alleged attempts to disturb the peace and create fear in the minds of the people ahead of polls.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and SS Sandhu attended the meeting with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and officials from the MHA.
The meeting comes after a poll body delegation led by CEC Kumar reviewed poll preparations in J&K.
In an interaction with the media in Jammu, CEC Kumar stressed over the fact that the ECI is committed to holding elections “at the earliest” in J&K. He expressed confidence in the arrangements and said that no external or internal forces can disrupt the electoral process. He added that the people of J&K will give a befitting response to “disruptive forces”.
All political parties in the UT want early elections so that they can try their hand at coming to power, prospects of which have been marred since 2014, when the last assembly election was held. On August 5, 2019, Article 370 was abrogated to create two UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Political leaders have demanded that everyone get equal security so that they can participate in the elections without fear.