Speeding up poll process! Delimitation Commission to visit Jammu and Kashmir on July 6

New Delhi, July 01: Taking the steps towards holding the elections in Jammu and Kashmir to restore the statehood in UT, the Delimitation Commission announced its visit to UT next week. According to the announcement, the commission will visit the Union territory from July 6 to July 9.

  

During their three days visit the commission will interact with political leaders including PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah. Besides they will also meet representatives of various stakeholders Deputy Commissioners of almost 20 districts.

 

 

The Election Commission released the notification regarding this saying the purpose of the discussions shall be to gather first-hand information and inputs concerning the ongoing process of delimitation as mandated under the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

Former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai will lead the three-member Delimitation Commission.

According to the press release the Delimitation Commission was constituted in March 2020 and its term was extended by another year in March 2021 in view of the ongoing pandemic. The election commission informed that the Commission already had series of meetings related to data, a map of the districts, Constituencies related to census 2011.

 

This development has come a week after Prime Minister held a meeting with the Gupkar alliance, in which PM Modi stressed the need to complete the delimitation exercise in order to ensure that polls can be held in the union territory.

 

A day after that meeting, the Election Commission had conducted virtual discussions with its representatives in Jammu and Kashmir and deputy commissioners regarding the delimitation of the 90 Assembly constituencies in the Union Territory.

 

Jammu and Kashmir last witnessed the restructuring of its assembly boundaries in the year 1995, based on the 1981 census when the erstwhile state was governed under the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957 until its special status was revoked.

 

 

Delimitation is defined as “the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body.” Simply, Delimitation is the process of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and state Assembly seats to represent changes in the population. It’s only after this exercise has been completed that an election can be conducted.

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