With assembly polls on agenda, ECI likely to visit J&K on March 12

As uncertainty over holding of long awaited assembly elections still continues, Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to visit Jammu & Kashmir on March 12 and 13 to assess the possibility of holding the state polls with Parliament polls.

The Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Kumar Pandey and Arun Goel are expected to visit both Kashmir and Jammu regions on March 12 and 13 mainly to review preparedness for Lok Sabha polls scheduled to be held in April-May.

However, besides reviewing preparedness for Lok Sabha elections, the ECI team will examine the possibility for conduct of Assembly polls which were last held in J&K almost 10 years back in November-December 2014, reports suggest.

J&K, long embroiled in political intricacies and administrative challenges, awaits the Commission's arrival of the ECI team with a mix of hope and skepticism. For the last five years, whispers of impending assembly elections have swirled through Kashmir, only to dissipate into the ether of speculation.

On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court had directed the ECI to hold J&K Assembly polls by September 30, 2024. The Union Territory is without any elected government since June 19, 2018 when BJP withdrew support to Mehbooba Mufti-led government, citing deteriorating security situation in the erstwhile state.

During its proposed visit to J&K, the poll panel is expected to meet stakeholders, including politicians and officials from administration and police and take their views on holding the assembly elections.

The ECI has already sanctioned the deployment of 635 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) companies in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to ensure violence free polls and keep the terrorists at bay.

The number is second highest after West Bengal where 920 companies will be deployed for the poll duty during April and May. Uttar Pradesh with the highest number of 80 Lok Sabha seats will have 252 paramilitary companies while the UT of Chandigarh will use a minimum 11 companies, the EC figures reveal.