Voter row: Most J&K parties welcome CEO assurances at all-party meet, PDP slams ‘eyewash’

The CEO told parties that “no outsider was being enrolled as a voter” during the summary revision of electoral rolls, and that new voters would only be those who fulfill conditions under the Representation of the People Act (RPA).

Among those who sought clarification from the CEO was Congress leader and former minister Yogesh Sawhney, who also asked about the safeguards against enrolment of “outsiders”.

This evoked a strong response from Ankur Sharma of the right-wing IkkJutt Jammu, who said that everybody eligible under provisions of the RPA, 1951, should be registered as a voter. As per the Act, anyone who “ordinarily resides” at a place can be registered as a voter there.

The BJP delegation also backed inclusion of those who fulfill the conditions as laid down under the RPA, saying “they are all Indians”.

This is the first summary revision of electoral rolls since 2019, and the abrogation of Article 370. With its special status scrapped, the RPA applies to J&K now. Earlier, only those holding permanent residency certificates could vote in the state elections in J&K.

Many parties, particularly those based in Kashmir, see this as an attempt to enrol “outsiders” to tilt the demographic scales and numbers in favour of the BJP. CEO Kumar’s earlier statement that the revision would see addition of 25 lakh new voters further fuelled those fears.

The government had earlier come out with a statement saying that the increase was as per Census projections and would include only those who had become eligible since the last revision.

At Monday’s meeting, J&K National Panthers Party leader Anil Gaur objected to October 1, 2022, being fixed as the cutoff date for registration of new voters – anybody 18 or above by then can apply – when the recent delimitation of Assembly constituencies had taken place on the basis of the 2011 Census.

The Jammu and Kashmir Aam Aadmi Party boycotted the meeting over the delay in holding of Assembly elections, while also alleging inclusion of “outsiders” in the electoral rolls. AAP leader and former J&K minister Harsh Dev Singh raised slogans accusing the Election Commission of being hand in glove with the BJP.

Singh said: “Such meetings were held by the EC in the past as well, but elections did not follow as the BJP did not want them.”

J&K Apni Party leader and former minister Manjit Singh seemed satisfied with the CEO’s clarification that only those who submit proof of residence in J&K and fulfill other criteria laid down by the EC can register as new voters.

He said the Apni Party had asked the EC to provide them a geographical map of all the Assembly constituencies.

The PDP was represented at the meeting by Pervez Waffa and Amrik Singh Reen.