J&K: Delimitation Commission Finalises Proposals, to Hear Objections on March 21

Srinagar: The Delimitation Commission, constituted for redrawing Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, has finalised its proposals and called for any objections and suggestions till 5 pm on March 21.

The panel has published its final proposal in the Gazettes of India and the Jammu and Kashmir on Monday and said that the commission will visit the union territory on March 28 and 29 for public sittings.

In a statement, the panel has informed that the copies of the Gazette are available for reference with the Chief Electoral Officer, UT of Jammu & Kashmir and the Election officials in all the districts of the Union Territory.

“Any objections and suggestions to the proposals should reach the Secretary, Delimitation Commission, Ashoka Hotel, 50-B, Niti Marg, Chankyapuri, New Delhi110021 on or before 1700 hrs on March 21, 2022 (Monday),” the statement read.

The objection and suggestions, the commission said, will be considered in public sittings in the UT of which the location and timings will be notified separately.

The Commission, which is headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai and comprises Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and State Election Commissioner (SEC) KK Sharma, has also incorporated dissenting notes from associate members who are the members of parliament from Kashmir and Jammu regions.

The detailed dissent note from National Conference (NC) members Farooq Abdullah, Hasnain Masoodi and Akbar Lone had questioned the entire process of delimitation exercise in the region terming it as part of the reorganisation of J&K which is currently under judicial scrutiny.

The newly structured Jammu and Kashmir will have a 90-seat Assembly of which seven segments will be reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and nine for Schedule Tribe (ST). The seats reserved for SCs fall in the Jammu division which includes Ramnagar in Udhampur district, Kathua South in Kathua district, Ramgarh in Samba district, Bishnah, Suchetgarh, Marh and Akhnoor in Jammu district.

The seats reserved for STs include Rajouri, Darhal and Thanna Mandi that fall in Jammu division’s Rajouri district, Surankote and Mendhar in Poonch district and Mahore in Reasi district and in Kashmir division the reserved seats are in Gurez of Bandipora district, Kangan in Ganderbal district and Kokernag in Anantnag district.

According to the Commission, the number of Parliamentary seats in the union territory will remain five while both Kashmir and Jammu divisions will have two Lok Sabha seats each. One constituency – Anantnag-Poonch – is spread over both the divisions to which the associate members had also lodged their protest. The commission has not kept any parliamentary constituency reserved for SCs and STs.

In its first draft, the Delimitation Commission’s suggestions to add six new constituency seats to Jammu province and one seat to the Kashmir division had caused a stir in the region’s mainstream political landscape, which rejected the draft as “biased” and “unacceptable”.

The workers of The National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) also held a protest in Srinagar earlier in January against the delimitation commission’s proposal which they said were aimed to help Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming elections.

In January, Home Minister Amit Shah said that Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held after the completion of the delimitation exercise. With the delimitation report getting finalised many political parties – who have begun their campaign already – expect that the elections will likely be held in the coming months.