IndiaRecent Articles

Lok Sabha polls dates soon after EC team’s Kashmir visit

By Anubhuti Vishnoi

Over 80% of the polling stations in the Valley are already designated as hyper sensitive.

 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will visit J&K on March 4-5 and take a final call on the possibility of holding state elections either along with the Lok Sabha polls or soon after it.

 
The EC will reach J&K after visiting Maharashtra and UP, and is likely to announce the Lok Sabha election schedule and its decision on J&K polls soon after the visit.

 
ET has learnt that the state administration has conveyed that it is ready to hold assembly elections provided adequate security personnel are brought in. Two ‘security requirement’ scenarios have been shared with the EC and the home ministry –– of holding assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha elections or of holding it soon after the Lok Sabha elections are completed and before the President’s rule in the state ends on June 20.

 

Meanwhile, the home ministry is learnt to have indicated that it may be possible to bring in heavier security deployment to enable multi-phase polls in J&K. The state is learnt to have estimated that 800 companies of paramilitary forces may be required for conducting assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls in the state. It is assessed that about 200 companies of additional forces will be needed for the assembly polls alone as security requirements will increase with more candidates in the fray.

 

Over 80% of the polling stations in the Valley are already designated as hyper sensitive. This could rise following recent incidents like Pulwama and necessitate more paramilitary presence.
The first move has already been made with 100 companies of central paramilitary force moving into the state over the weekend. Over 400 additional companies are already in the state since the panchayat elections which concluded recently. During 2014 assembly polls, about 400 companies were deployed. The 2009 polls had seen deployment of over 600 companies.
The EC is bound by the 2002 SC verdict that states that whenever a House is dissolved prematurely, the EC is required to initiate steps to hold elections to constitute the assembly “on the first occasion and in any case within six months from date of premature dissolution”.
While six months of dissolution of J&K assembly ends on May 20, the President’s rule ends on June 20 and will require an extension by the next Lok Sabha. However, when the state government has indicated its readiness for polls, the possibility of delaying elections diminishes considerably.
Continue Reading
Anubhuti Vishnoi

Anubhuti Vishnoi writes extensively on policy and politics with special focus on the sectors of education, environment and culture. She started her journalistic career at The Indian Express where she spent a decade with in-depth reporting on a range of areas from aviation and infrastructure to social sector concerns. She is currently a Senior Assistant Editor at The Economic Times.

You might also like More from author