Nasir Azam
Srinagar, Aug 7: A high-level team of the Election Commission of India (ECI) is arriving here Thursday morning to review preparedness for the much-awaited assembly polls in Jammu & Kashmir, which is without an elected government for over six years now.
The full commission comprising chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu will reach here tomorrow morning to interact with different stakeholders.
The ECI team would reach here at 10 am after their departure from New Delhi at 8 am.
After their arrival, the commission would commence meetings with representatives of different political parties from 11:15 am to get their feedback on the polls. “The commission would meet representatives of different recognised state and national political parties,” chief electoral officer of J&K, PK Pole said.
The poll body would meet representatives of political parties including the National Conference, Bharatiya Janta Party, Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Aam Admi Party.
However, it wouldn’t meet representatives of the Panthers Party, one of the three recognised state parties in J&K, as its name and symbol was frozen by the poll body on March 20, 2024.
After holding meeting with different political parties, the commission would hold a joint meeting with all deputy commissioners (DCs) and senior superintendents of police (SSPs). The meeting which would start at 2 pm and will be attended by all twenty DCs and twenty-three SSPs/SPs.
Later in the evening at 7 pm, the team would meet chief electoral officer, state police nodal officer and coordinator central paramilitary forces to review preparedness for the polls.
As per the ECI’s itinerary, the commission would hold a meeting with chief secretary Atul Dullo and director general of police RR Swain at 9 pm on Thursday.
After concluding their meeting with the CS and the DGP, the commission would leave for Jammu and hold a meeting with different law enforcement agencies there at 1 am.
The Commission is expected to address a news conference at around 2:30 pm before their departure to New Delhi at 4:40 pm.
Notably, the Supreme Court had last year directed the commission to hold assembly polls in J&K by September 30 this year.
