Malik Zahoor
Srinagar, Aug 08 (KB): Immediate Assembly elections, the pressing demand of the ruling and opposition political parties was made with the visiting team of the Election Commission, which is headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar during their visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
Arriving in Srinagar early this morning, the EC delegation which includes election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu, joined by other leaders from key political parties at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre, SKICC, met to discuss mainly the preparedness for the upcoming Assembly Elections and get feedback from various political stakeholders in J&K.
In the meetings, a uniform demand for immediate holding of the assembly elections was put forward by the participating parties, NC, PDP, BJP, Congress, and Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party.
A delegation led by Nasir Aslam Wani, NC’s Kashmir provincial president, pressed for the urgent holding of elections. Wani also attacked the present dispensation since 2018, saying the absence of an elected government has hit the progress of the region. “People of J&K want to have their own government. We have been telling this to EC repeatedly and seeking decisive action,” said Wani while speaking to the media. He said the NC believes that all political, developmental, and security-related issues are better addressed with an elected government in place.
Congress and PDP Echo Demands G. N. Monga of the Congress party too said that elections were necessary for restoration of democratic norm.
The Congress leader said that prolonged non holding of electoral exercise in J&K has damaged the democratic health of the region. “We call ourselves the mother of democracy, yet J&K has been without elections for years. It’s time to restore democracy here,” Monga said. He also referred to the discrepancies in providing security to various parties, and sought equal treatment of all parties.
PDP leader Khurshid Alam argued that better situation in J&K, which is reflected from the smooth conduct of parliamentary elections and the Amarnath yatra, was good enough reason to hold the assembly polls. “If the situation has improved and big events have been successfully held, what is the point of further delaying elections.
People of J&K must get their own government, which they can elect,” Alam said. He said the EC responded positively to these concerns.
Political leaders cutting across party lines also pitched for a free and fair electoral environment. NC’s Wani expressed apprehensions over biased functioning in the administration owing to the political character of the appointment of the present Lieutenant Governor.
He impressed upon the EC to ensure the election environment is sanitized and free from any political bias to guarantee a level playing field for all parties. The Supreme Court has provided for the election process to be completed by September 30, though an official election schedule is yet to be announced.
The leaders have expressed hope that the EC abides by this deadline and holds the elections in a manner that upholds democratic principles.
The team will subsequently go through the meetings to review preparations with the District Election Officers, Superintendents of Police, Chief Secretary, and Director General of Police. The visit will culminate with a review meeting in Jammu on August 10, where the team has a scheduled interaction with the media through a press conference and will share their observations and next steps.
What binds them into a single strand is the collective demand from political parties in J&K, an indication that arguably it is one of those very important moments for democratic processes in the region as stakeholders there anxiously wait for the EC’s decisions about when and how assembly elections will take place.— (KB)
