Assembly elections are going to be held in Jammu and Kashmir after 10 years. These will be the first elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the abolition of Article 370. These elections are also special because this time the number of assembly seats has also increased. Also, now Ladakh is no longer there in Jammu and Kashmir.
There are more than 88.66 lakh voters in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections to be held in three phases. Among these, there are lakhs of voters who live outside Jammu and Kashmir. To enable Kashmiri migrants to cast their votes, the Election Commission also sets up polling booths in Delhi.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Election Commissioner PK Pole said that 24 special polling booths are being set up in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi for displaced Kashmiris. He also said that migrant Kashmiri Pandits living in Jammu and Udhampur will not be required to fill Form-M.
Who are the Kashmiri migrants?
A Kashmiri migrant is considered to be one who has migrated from the valley or any part of Jammu and Kashmir after 1 November 1989 and whose name is registered with the Relief Commission. A large number of these are Kashmiri Pandits. The number of Kashmiri migrant voters is estimated to be close to 1.25 lakh.
After the exodus from the valley, most of the Kashmiri migrants settled in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi. They have been living here since then. Special polling booths are set up in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi so that these Kashmiri migrants can cast their votes in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
This system was introduced in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections held in 1996. Since then, polling booths are being set up for Kashmiri migrants in every Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
Of the 24 polling booths that will be set up this time, 19 will be in Jammu, 1 in Udhampur and 4 in Delhi.
Also read: 90 seats instead of 83, reservation for Kashmiri Pandits too… Know what will change in the Jammu and Kashmir elections being held after 10 years?
Only migrants from J&K get this facility
This kind of facility is available only for migrants from Jammu and Kashmir. Other migrants living in other parts of the country do not get such facility.
Section 20A of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 states that a person must go to a polling station to vote. You can vote at the polling booth of the constituency in which your name is registered.
For this reason, the migrants who have left their homes and settled in another city or state are not able to vote in the elections. If they want to vote, they will have to go to their assembly constituency. But Kashmiri migrants living in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi can vote.
Why this facility is given only to Kashmiri Pandits?
The 1987 assembly elections proved to be a turning point for Kashmir. After these elections, terrorism grew rapidly in the valley.
In 1990, when the era of terrorism started in the valley, Kashmiri Pandits were driven away from their place. Two years ago, the government had told the Parliament that the number of Kashmiri migrant families who left the valley during that period was 44 thousand 684, which included more than 1.54 lakh people.
According to the Home Ministry, 219 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in the terrorism that started in the valley.
This is the reason why separate facilities are provided for Kashmiri migrants for voting because these people are still living in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi.
What will be the process for casting vote?
In this year’s Lok Sabha elections, the requirement of Form-M was abolished for Kashmiri migrants living in Jammu and Udhampur. In the assembly elections too, migrant voters living in Jammu and Udhampur will not need to fill Form-M. However, migrants living in Delhi will have to fill Form-M.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Election Commissioner PK Pole said that the draft roll of Kashmiri migrant voters will be released soon. There will be a time period of seven days for any kind of change or correction in it. After this the final electoral roll will be released.
He said that after the final data is received, voter ID cards will be issued to Kashmiri migrants. Through this, migrant voters will be able to go to special polling booths and cast their votes.
Also read: BJP releases new list for JK, announces 15 candidates for first phase, no change
What about the rest of the migrants?
At present, special polling booths are made only for Kashmiri migrants or Kashmiri Pandits. But there is no such facility for other migrants.
The Election Commission is working on remote voting machines so that migrants living in other cities or states can also cast their votes. In January last year, the Election Commission had proposed remote voting machines. If the proposal of remote voting machines is passed and used in elections, then migrants living in other cities or states will be able to cast their votes from the same place.
If such facilities are available for migrant voters, it is expected that the voting percentage will increase in the elections. In 2011, five NGOs did a study on migrant voters, which revealed that 60% of the people did not return home to vote because it was very expensive for them to return home. Most of the people living in other states in India are poor and make a living by driving auto-rickshaws or doing small jobs. In such a situation, it becomes very expensive for them to return home to vote.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, only 67.4 percent voting took place. According to the Election Commission, there were more than 30 crore voters who did not vote. And the biggest reason for this was migrants.
When are the elections in Jammu and Kashmir?
Voting will be held in three phases for the 90 assembly seats of Jammu and Kashmir. Voting will be held on 24 seats in the first phase on September 18, on 26 seats in the second phase on September 25 and on 40 seats in the third phase on October 1. The election results will be declared on October 4.
The last assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in 2014. Out of the 87 seats here, PDP won 28, BJP 25, National Conference 15 and Congress 12. BJP and PDP formed the government together and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became the Chief Minister.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died in January 2016. Governor’s rule was imposed for about four months. Later his daughter Mehbooba Mufti became the Chief Minister. But this alliance did not last long. On 19 June 2018, BJP broke the alliance with PDP. Governor’s rule was imposed in the state. Currently President’s rule is imposed there.
While upholding the decision to remove Article 370 last year, the Supreme Court has ordered the central government to conduct assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)