“Follow-up is essential, ECI should announce dates as soon as possible”: Tanvir Sadiq on J&K Assembly polls

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 10 (ANI): After a delegation of the Election Commission visited Jammu and Kashmir over poll preparedness, Tanvir Sadiq, Chief Spokesman of the National Conference, said on Saturday that the follow-up is essential and ECI should announce the date at the earliest so people can prepare accordingly.

Sadiq said, “The conclusion of the discussion in CEC is positive. The follow-up is essential. The Election Commission officials will announce the dates for the election after visiting Delhi. The announcement should be made as soon as possible, so our people will gear up for the election process. All the political parties and candidates should get equal security and similar facilities.”

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Friday said that the Election Commission is “committed” to conducting polls in Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest, adding that the people of J-K will give a befitting response to “disruptive forces.”

CEC further said that all parties in Jammu and Kashmir are “batting strongly” for holding assembly elections.

“We met the state’s national and recognised parties. All of them praised the public and Election Commission for the successful Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir. They all said it was a historic achievement, it had good participation, and no incident (of violence) took place, which has boosted people’s confidence. All the parties demanded that the Assembly polls be held at the earliest. All the parties demanded that there be public elected representatives in J-K, who could better connect with locals. More or less all the political parties, except one or two, also wanted that a level playing field be established,” he added.

There are a total of 90 assembly constituencies, of which 74 are General, nine are ST and seven are SC.

In Jammu and Kashmir, there are 87.09 lakh total electors. Of which 44.46 lakh are male, 42.62 female, 169 are Transgender, 82,590 PwDs, 73943 very senior citizens, 2660 centenarians, 76092 service electors, and 3.71 lakh are first-time voters.

In December of last year, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to conclude the election process by September 30, 2024.

Jammu and Kashmir will witness elections after a gap of ten years, as the last assembly election was held in 2014. The PDP-BJP coalition government fell in June 2018 when the latter withdrew support to the then-Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti.