Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Aug 8: In their separate meetings with the Election Commission of India, the political parties on Thursday demanded immediate assembly polls in the Union Territory, which is without an elected government for more than six years.
A high-level delegation of ECI led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar arrived here on Thursday to review preparedness for the polls.
The ECI team comprising Kumar and election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu after arriving here drove straightway towards Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) where representatives of recognized political parties met them.
The representatives National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), National Panthers Party (Bhim), National Panthers Party (India), and CPI (M) met the high-level team.
All the parties demanded that elections should be held as per the deadline set by the Supreme Court (SC) of India.
On December 11, 2023, Supreme Court, while delivering verdict on Article 370 case, had directed the Election Commission to take steps and conduct assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024.
Talking to reporters after meeting the ECI team, a delegation of BJP led by former MLA RS Pathania said they have demanded that the election shall be held within the timeline given by the Supreme Court of India.
“The BJP is in favour of early assembly polls and we have told the team that the assembly polls should be held before the set deadline by the Supreme Court,” he said.
He said they want a massive turnout in the assembly polls.“ A wrong perception has been created by the local parties here that the Government of India is not in favour of assembly polls here, but the fact is some of the issues like summary revision and others were pending due to which the polls were delayed,” Pathania said.
He said assembly elections took place in 2002 and 1996 when the situation was worse.
Former Congress MLA Ghulam Nabi Monga said they have demanded early polls in Jammu and Kashmir” We have been assured that the suggestions and demands submitted by us in writing will be looked into,” Monga said.
He said they have demanded that the polls should be held as per the directives of SC.
NC’s provincial president Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani, said that they have told the EC team that there was no reason with them to delay the polls any further. “As per their response, we are hopeful that the elections will be conducted soon. Though no timeline was given, we were assured that it will be held soon,” Wani said.
President of National Panthers Party (Bhim), Vileshan Singh said that they demanded early elections.
“The delay in conducting polls is giving the wrong message to the rest of the world,” he said, adding that they have also been assured that their issues related to the symbol and name of the party will be resolved before the polls.
Former minister and leader of National Panthers Party( India) Harsh Dev Singh said that they have told the delegation that the polls should be conducted at earliest and within the timeline set by the Supreme Court. “During the bureaucratic rule, the people are being pushed to the wall. J&K cannot be ruled through a remote control from Delhi. We demanded early, free and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir,” Singh said.
PDP leader Asiya Naqash said the party raised several issues with the team of EC. “There was a positive response today. However, no timeline was given to us about conduct of polls”, she said, adding that the party is expecting early assembly polls.
CPI (M) leader Muhammad Abbas Rather said that the party told them the delay in conducting polls has created a vacuum in J&K, adding that the bureaucratic rule cannot be an alternative to represent the people.
Further delay is not in favour of the country as well in Jammu and Kashmir, Rather said.
