After the announcement of the Election Commission to India (ECI) to publish the final electoral rolls of Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, the BJP on Thursday said that it is the right time to hold maiden assembly elections in the Union Territory.
"Although the schedule of the election has to be decided by the ECI, I think it is the right time to conduct assembly polls in the UT", Ashok Koul, general secretary of J&K BJP told media persons at Anantnag in south Kashmir.
Pointing toward ongoing meetings of BJP workers in different areas of Kashmir Valley, Koul said, "such events are part of our preparations for the elections".
"As far as BJP is concerned, we are ready for elections at any time", he said, adding, "BJP is all prepared for the elections in J&K whenever ECI makes the announcement regarding it".
Koul exuded confidence that BJP is making inroads in Kashmir Valley also and part is going to create history in the coming assembly polls.
EC to publish finalized J&K's voters' list Oct 31
The Election Commission will publish the finalized electoral rolls of Jammu and Kashmir on October 31.
In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of J&K, ECI has given a timeline to complete various activities before the final publication of the electoral rolls on October 31.
The voters' list will keep getting updated as there are four cut-off dates in a year now when those turning 18 can enroll themselves as voters.
Earlier, those turning 18 on or before the first day of the year, could apply to become voters on January 1. Now, those turning 18 on or before January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 can apply to become voters.
Delimitation Commission has already submitted its final draft
Constituted to redraw assembly and parliamentary constituencies of the newly carved Union Territory of J&K, the Delimitation Commission has already submitted its draft report to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The completion of the exercise has paved the way for holding elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This would be the first election in the UT after the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of J&K into two Union Territories by the BJP-led NDA government in August 2019.
Headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, the Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir was constituted by the Centre on March 6, 2020, to redraw Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies of the Union Territory.
The panel was constituted in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which bifurcated the erstwhile state into the union territories of J&K and Ladakh.
