ECI committed to conducting assembly polls in J&K at the earliest: CEC Rajiv Kumar in Jammu

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Friday that the poll panel is committed to conducting assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible. Kumar, heading a poll panel on a three-day visit to the Union Territory, said the Election Commission would not allow any internal or external forces to derail the electoral process.

“We are committed to conducting polls in Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible, and we will not let any internal or external forces derail the election,” Kumar said, addressing a press conference in Jammu. He said all parties in Jammu and Kashmir are ‘batting’ strongly for holding assembly elections.

The EC delegation is in the UT to review the preparedness of the administration and the security agencies for the conduct of the polls.

The delegation met with representatives of political parties at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Sringar on the first day of the visit on Thursday. On the second day of their visit on Friday, the delegation that also includes Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and SS Sandhu held discussions with Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary Atal Dullo and the Union Territory's police chief R R Swain, officials said, according to a news agency PTI.

Jammu and Kashmir has been under Central rule since June 19, 2018, after the collapse of a coalition government headed by the People’s Democratic Party’s Mehbooba Mufti due to the pullout of its alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party. 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 two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh –  in August 2019 and the abrogation of Article 370, the Assembly polls could not be held due to various reasons, including a delimitation exercise completed in 2022.

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

(With PTI inputs)