To review preparations for the forthcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, a high-level team from the Election Commission of India (ECI) will reach Srinagar on Thursday morning.
The full Commission, including Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, will arrive tomorrow morning to engage with various stakeholders.
According to reports the ECI team will reach at 10 am, departing from New Delhi at 8 am.
Upon arrival, the commission will begin meetings with representatives from different political parties at 11:15 am to gather their input on the elections.
"The commission will meet representatives of various recognized state and national political parties," said PK Pole, the Chief Electoral Officer of J&K, said.
Representatives of the National Conference, Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Apni Party and Aam Aadmi Party will meet the ECI team.
However, the commission will not meet with representatives of the Panthers Party, one of the three recognized state parties in J&K, as its name and symbol were frozen by the poll body on March 20, 2024.
ECI team to meet with civil, police officers
Following the meetings with political parties, the commission will hold a joint session with all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) at 2 pm. This meeting will include all twenty DCs and twenty-three SSPs/SPs.
In the evening, at 7 pm, the team will meet with the Chief Electoral Officer, the State Police Nodal Officer, and the Coordinator of Central Paramilitary Forces to review election preparedness.
According to the ECI's schedule, the commission will meet with Chief Secretary Atul Dullo and Director General of Police RR Swain at 9 pm on Thursday.
Invitations already extended to all political parties
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Jammu and Kashmir has sent invitations to political parties for a meeting with the Election Commission (EC). Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S. S. Sandhu, will be present.
On August 10, the Commission will visit Jammu for a review meeting with enforcement agencies and will hold a press conference to brief the media on the review process.
The upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be the first since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganization of the state into two Union Territories in 2019. The electoral process in the region typically spans a month.
Following a delimitation exercise, the number of Assembly seats has increased from 83 to 90, excluding five seats allocated to Kashmiri migrants, women, and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) refugees.
Last December, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024.
