Following severe backlash for an alleged inclusion of “non-locals” in the revised voters list for Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory’s administration has issued a statement clarifying the reason behind a huge spike in the number of voters.

The Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Government of J&K, has issued a formal clarification, saying, “There have been media reports that more than 25 lakh additions will be there in the electoral rolls once the process of electoral roll revision starts. This is a misrepresentation of facts, which is being spread by vested interests.” The statement attributed an increase in the number of voters to an inclusion of those who have attained or will attain the age of 18 years by October 1, 2022.

The statement also clarified, “There will be no change in the special provisions for Kashmiri migrants for their enrollment in the electoral rolls of their original native constituencies. They will continue to be given option of voting at their place of enrollment or through postal ballot or through specially set up polling stations at Jammu, Udhampur, Delhi etc.”

? @diprjk ?????? ????????????? ?? ???????? ?? ?&? ????????? ?????

???? ? ???? ?? ??? ????????? ????????@infjammu @ceojak @ECISVEEP @CBCKathua @OfficeOfLGJandK @Divcomjammu @districtadmkat1 @ddiprjammu pic.twitter.com/c8UageQBYd

— Information & PR, Kathua (@DiprKathua) August 20, 2022

Trouble began last Wednesday when Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Hirdesh Kumar told mediapersons that lakhs of new names had been added to electoral rolls. NDTV quoted him as saying, “We are expecting an addition of 20 to 25 lakh new voters in the final list.” He explained, “We are expecting massive changes in the voter list given that a large number of youngsters have attained the age of 18 over the past three years.”

But he also went on to say something that was allegedly misconstrued by many as the UT permitting “non-locals” to vote.

Kumar reportedly said, “After Article 370 abrogation, many people who were not enlisted as voters in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir are now eligible to vote. Also, anyone who is living ordinarily can avail the opportunity to get enlisted as a voter in J&K under the provisions of The Representation of the People Act.” He added, “An employee, a student, a labourer or anyone from outside who is living ordinarily in J-K, can enlist his or her name in the voting list. The documents will be scrutinised by government officials concerned who will take a decision after being satisfied with the claim.”

This sparked a controversy. People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of gerrymandering (using the recent delimitation exercise), and allowing “non locals” to vote to allegedly “influence election results.”

GOIs decision to defer polls in J&K preceded by egregious gerrymandering tilting the balance in BJPs favour & now allowing non locals to vote is obviously to influence election results. Real aim is to continue ruling J&K with an iron fist to disempower locals. https://t.co/zHzqaMseG6

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) August 17, 2022

Omar Abdullah of the National Conference (NC) too criticized the move:

Is the BJP so insecure about support from genuine voters of J&K that it needs to import temporary voters to win seats? None of these things will help the BJP when the people of J&K are given a chance to exercise their franchise. https://t.co/ZayxjHiaQy

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 17, 2022

It is noteworthy that when J&K was a state, Jammu had 37 Assembly Constituencies, Kashmir had 46 and Ladakh had four – taking the state total to 87. After the abrogation of Article 370, Ladakh became a separate union territory (UT) as did J&K. After delimitation, total ACs in J&K stand at 90 – 43 in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir division. The recommendations came into effect on May 20, 2022.

After delimitation, some critics claim that the seat allocation is disproportionately in favour of the Jammu region. As this extremely informative video by Newslaundry explains, before delimitation, Jammu had 44-5 percent of the seats and had also nearly 43.8 percent of the voting population, and Kashmir had 55 percent seats with 56 percent of the population. After delimitation, Jammu has cornered approximately 48 percent of ACs, while Kashmir’s chunk has been cut to roughly 52 percent.

As the 2021 Census had to be suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the recommendations were made based on 2011 Census figures. Now, it is well known, that Jammu has a predominantly Hindu population, while Kashmir is predominantly Muslim. This has given rise to concerns about communally polarising vote bank politics.

This coupled with the new alleged ploy to enable “non-locals” to vote has set the cat among the pigeons in the UT. Even the clarification issued by the administration has failed to allay the fears of local parties. NC Chief Dr. Farooq Abdullah, today joined Mufti and other leaders from Kashmir at an all-party meeting on the subject.

Dr Farooq Abdullah holds all-party meet over inclusion of the non-local voters in J&K.@OmarAbdullah, @MehboobaMufti, Vikar Rasool, others present on the occasion. pic.twitter.com/7ZdSPUFuzr

— JKNC (@JKNC_) August 22, 2022

Related:

Voting Rights to Non-Locals ‘Dangerous, Say J&K Parties After CEO’s Announcement

Kashmir: Resentment in Parties as EC Defers Publication of Electoral Rolls

The post Jammu and Kashmir: Local parties still edgy about alleged enrollment of “non-locals” despite clarification by UT administration appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Srinagar: People who are ordinarily residing in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir will for the first time be able to register as voters and cast their vote in the next Assembly elections, Hirdesh Kumar Singh, Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, said on Wednesday, drawing strong reaction from the regional political leadership.

“Since the abrogation of Article 370, many people were not eligible for voting. Now they can vote as well. Now people who are living here ordinarily like the residents, who are doing their jobs or are studying here, are labourers or for business purposes can register as voters. There is no need to be a permanent resident now,” Singh said.

The latest announcement allows non-locals to cast their vote in the next Assembly elections of the UT that was earlier limited to state subjects or permanent residents of the erstwhile J&K state. Following the reconstitution of Assembly seats under the delimitation exercise, the official said that 600 new polling stations will be added while the total polling stations will go up to 11,370.

Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir state had 87 constituencies and with its bifurcation four seats remained with the newly created Ladakh UT.

The Election Commission is making a new electoral roll as per new constituencies, which have undergone changes. The electoral officer added that the new electoral rolls will likely add as many as 2.5 million new voters in the region which after the recently carried out delimitation exercise will have 90 Assembly seats. Of these new 90 seats, seven seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and for the first time, nine seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST).

The official said that the draft voters’ list will be released at every polling station on September 15 and the last date for claims and objections will be October 25. “By November 25, final electoral rolls in accordance with 90 Assembly constituencies will be released,” he said.

The development was criticised by regional political leadership, except the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) that termed the move as a “great step”.

“Welcome the induction of 25 lakh new voters, especially the youth in the new voter list. Democracy flourishing in J&K…also a great step by ECI for giving voting rights in Assembly polls to non-local labourers, those who have come for studies, and those here for security purposes. Regional parties are feeling the heat of real democracy,” BJP’s Altaf Thakur said.

‘Don’t replay 1987. It will be as disastrous’

Reacting to the statement, J&K Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone, however, warned that the step would be a replay of 1987 – implying alleged rigging in the polls that led to the outbreak of insurgency a year later.

“This is dangerous. I don’t know what they want to achieve. This is much more than a mischief. Democracy is a relic especially in the context of Kashmir. Please remember 1987. We are yet to come out of that. Don’t replay 1987. It will be as disastrous,” Lone said.

Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti lashed out at BJP, claiming that the move was an attempt to influence the Assembly elections.

“Is the BJP so insecure about support from genuine voters of J&K that it needs to import temporary voters to win seats? None of these things will help the BJP when the people of J&K are given a chance to exercise their franchise,” Omar Abdullah of the National Conference (NC) tweeted.

“GOIs decision to defer polls in J&K preceded by egregious gerrymandering tilting the balance in BJPs favour & now allowing non locals to vote is obviously to influence election results. Real aim is to continue ruling J&K with an iron fist to disempower locals,” People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti wrote.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Voting Rights to Non-Locals ‘Dangerous, Say J&K Parties After CEO’s Announcement appeared first on SabrangIndia.