Srinagar: The Election Commission of India (ECI) which is faced with a barrage of criticism from various opposition parties following its refusal to hold Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls along with those for the Lok Sabha has after the ruling BJP found support from former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Endorsing the ECI’s view that holding the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in J&K concurrently is not viable from the security point of view, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) leader on Sunday said, “We in J&K have five Lok Sabha seats and if ten candidates fight from each of these, we will have fifty candidates in the fray. And if fifteen candidates are there for each of the 90 Assembly segments, the total number of candidates would rise to 1,400. It may even go up to 1,500. It is difficult to provide security to so many candidates all at once,” Mr. Azad said in Jammu. The former chief minister, however, urged the ECI and the Centre to ensure that the J&K Assembly elections are held a month after the process of holding the Lok Sabha polls is completed. “The Assembly elections in J&K should be held after a month’s rest post the Lok Sabha polls,” he said. Various opposition political parties have sharply criticised the ECI over its delaying the Assembly polls in J&K beyond the LoK Sabha elections, alleging that a crucial democratic space is being denied to the people of the erstwhile state. Following holding a series of meetings with the leaders and representatives of various political parties at the head of a 10-member ECI team during its recent 3-day visit to J&K, the Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar had confirmed that they demanded that Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in J&K should be held simultaneously. While assuring “We’re aware of our duties and responsibilities” and that “There should be no political vacuum and elections both for Lok Sabha and J&K Assembly should be held as early as possible,” he had, however, also said that a final call will be taken after the review of the security situation and feedback from all stakeholders. On Friday, Mr. Kumar while announcing the Lok Sabha election schedule in New Delhi said that “we stand committed” that the Assembly elections in J&K would be held soon after the Lok Sabha poll process is completed as there will be availability of additional forces. He added, “Administration told us that there will be roughly 10 to 12 candidates for each Assembly segment which means approximately, there will be 1,000 candidates in fray.” His announcement evoked sharp criticism from various opposition parties and leaders. Former chief minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said, “I am very disappointed and disheartened. Daal mei kuch kala zaroor hai; it is why they are delaying Assembly elections in J&K”. Asking the ECI to rethink its decision he said, “When security is sufficient for Lok Sabha polls, why not for Assembly elections? His son and party vice president Omar Abdullah had earlier tweeted, “So much for “One Nation One Election”. The EC is unable to conduct assembly polls in J&K with the general election even when they acknowledge that elections are due #GeneralElections2024”. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Ahmed Mir had termed the ECI’s reasoning outlook as being “fake.” He said, “India is not a small state. When security can be arranged for the four states then why can’t for J&K. This is nothing but a fake reason.” Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, the key face of the CPIM in J&K, said, “Nearly all political parties raised this issue that why is J&K being kept away from the world’s largest democracy? The answer given by the ECI gave us hope that something will happen.” He added, “The J&K Reorganisation Act is actually a ‘disorganisation’ act which balkanised our territory. In the name of delimitation, the entire structure has been scattered. The basis of delimitation is the census.” Mr. Tarigami said that when the Prime Minister called an all-party meeting on J&K, the Home Minister Amit Shah who was also present talked about a chronology- first elections will be held, then delimitation will be conducted, and then statehood will be granted. The whole exercise of delimitation and nomination has been a strategy of the BJP to increase their vote share”.
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