EC reviews J-K security situation with Home Secy for holding Assembly polls

The commission, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, had visited the Union Territory last week to review preparations on the ground. On Wednesday, the EC met Bhalla and discussed the possible increase in the number of security personnel for the Assembly polls compared to the Lok Sabha polls, sources said.

Given the security situation in the UT, all candidates would require security cover, leading to an increase in the requirement, sources said. The Assembly elections are also expected to be more contested, they said.

The EC’s review also took into account the recent spike in terror activities in Jammu, sources said.

J&K has five Lok Sabha seats and 90 Assembly constituencies.

Since the last Assembly elections in J&K were held in 2014, the more-recent Lok Sabha elections would be taken as the benchmark for deciding force deployment, said an official.

While upholding the abrogation of Article 370, the Supreme Court last year had directed the Election Commission to hold Assembly elections in J&K by September 30, 2024. Ahead of the deadline, the EC has started the process of preparing the updated electoral roll, which is scheduled to be published on August 20. The ongoing Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage is scheduled to end on August 19.

Speaking at a press conference in Jammu last week, the CEC said the commission was committed to holding Assembly elections in the UT at the earliest. Jammu and Kashmir hasn’t had Assembly elections since 2014 and had no Assembly since it was dissolved in 2018. If held, the upcoming elections would be the first in 10 years and the first since the state was split into two Union Territories – Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh – in 2019.