look news india
A team of the Election Commission of India arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on August 8 to review the preparations for the assembly elections and take feedback from political parties. Officials said a team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar will meet representatives of political parties at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Auditorium.
Invitation for meeting with Election Commission of India
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir had issued a letter to various political parties on August 6 inviting them for a meeting with the Election Commission of India. Political parties have been given time to meet the Election Commission.
Election Commission will review the preparations for the elections
Representatives of various political parties, including the National Conference, People's Democratic Party, BJP, Congress and Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party, have reached SKICC to meet the ECI team. He said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer PK Pole and several senior police and civil administration officials also reached SKICC. The Election Commission will review the preparations for the assembly elections a few weeks before the September 30 deadline set by the Supreme Court for holding elections in the Union Territory.
Review meeting with implementing agencies
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is accompanied by Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and SS Sandhu. The Commission will also review the preparations with all District Election Officers and Superintendents of Police as well as the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police. The three-day visit of the Election Commission members will end on August 10 in Jammu, where they will hold review meetings with the implementing agencies.
Elections will be held according to the deadline
After meeting with all the political parties of the state at the Sher-e-Kashmir Convention Center in Srinagar on the first day of his three-day visit to the state, the commissioner cited the assurances given by the leaders of the political parties and said that it is expected that elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir according to the timeline set by the Supreme Court.
When was the last assembly election held?
The last assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in the year 2014. No party got a majority in this election. After this, BJP and PDP formed a coalition government. This government lasted for four years. In June 2018, BJP withdrew support from the government and the government fell. No elections have been held since then. That is, there is no elected government in Jammu and Kashmir for the last 6 years.
Why were assembly elections not held in Jammu and Kashmir for so many years?
Assembly elections were to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in April-May 2019. Then the then Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora had said that elections should not be held due to security reasons. A few months later, the central government repealed Article 370, withdrew the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided the state into two union territories.
How is the security situation in Kashmir?
Confidence about security has been restored in the state after the safe Lok Sabha elections and the Amarnath Yatra concluded without violence. However, the recent Reasi terror attack and several other terror attacks that followed have caught the attention of the public, a news that raises concerns about the security apparatus of the state.