All eyes on July 10 meet

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is expected to go for the maiden polls in the next few months as directed by the Supreme Court (SC), but media reports indicated that the elections would unlikely take place this year. However, the developments that have come to the fore have indicated that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has already geared up for conducting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which would be the first assembly elections in the Union Territory—erstwhile State. The meeting of all the District Election Officers (DEOs) has been called for July 10th by the Election Commission where the necessary issues will be raised and the feedback received by the DEOs from political parties will be conveyed. The meeting is pivotal at this juncture as the political parties are keen to hear the formal announcement from the ECI with regard to the conduct of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a statement in Srinagar on July 21, saying that the preparations for polls in Jammu and Kashmir have already been started and added that the people will get a chance to elect their representatives soon. Jammu and Kashmir last year completed six years without an elected government. With the meeting round the corner, all eyes are on July 10 when the feedback will be received and accordingly a decision is expected to be made public with regard to the polls.