J&K poll process: EC team holds consultations with chief secretary, police chief

Srinagar, Aug 9 (PTI) The Election Commission on Friday held consultations with the Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary and the union territory’s police chief to review the preparedness for assembly polls, officials said.

On the second day of their visit, the EC delegation comprising Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S S Sandhu held discussions with J-K chief secretary Atal Dullo and J-K Police DGP R R Swain, the officials said.

The ECI reviewed the preparedness of the administration as well as the security agencies for the conduct of the polls.

The ECI team sought feedback from the DGP on the readiness and preparation of the forces for the polls, the officials said.

The issues of deployment of forces, providing security cover to candidates, and security during campaigning were deliberated upon, the officials added.

After the meeting, the ECI team left for Jammu where it will hold a review meeting with enforcement agencies. It will also hold a press conference to brief the media on the review process.

On the first day of its visit on Thursday, the ECI team held deliberations with political parties who demanded immediate polls in the UT, which would be the first assembly election in J-K in the last 10 years.

Assembly polls have not been held in Jammu and Kashmir since 2014. The polls were due to be held in early 2019 following the dissolution of the legislative body of the erstwhile state in 2018.

However, after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories in August 2019, the Assembly polls could not be held due to various reasons, including a delimitation exercise that was completed in 2022.

The Supreme Court in December last year directed the Centre to conclude the election process by September 30 this year.