Srinagar: With the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordering a special summary revision of electoral rolls in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, it seems ground is being prepared for holding of elections here sometime by the end of this year or early next year.
In a letter to J&K’s chief electoral officer, the Election Commission has directed that entire exercise of special summary revision shall be completed by October 31, 2022 with final publication of electoral rolls. It will the Union Territory’s first voters’ list after the boundaries of assembly seats were redrawn in the delimitation exercise.
In a letter, the poll panel has given a timeline to complete various activities before the final publication of the electoral rolls on October 31.
Officials said the voters’ list will keep getting updated as there are four cut-off dates in a year now when those turning 18 can enrol themselves as voters.
Earlier, those turning 18 on or before the first day of the year, could apply to become voters on January 1. Now, those turning 18 on or before January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 can apply to become voters.
As per existing policy, the revision of electoral rolls with reference to January 1 of the coming year as the qualifying date is carried out in later part of each year in all states and union territories so that the final publication of the electoral rolls could be made in the first week of January of the succeeding year.
However, due to various reasons, the annual revision of electoral rolls could not be undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir after special summary revision, 2019.
In the meantime, an exercise to redraw the boundaries of constituencies in the UT was in progress and the finally delimitated segments were notified by the Delimitation Commission on May 5 this year.
As the revision of electoral rolls was not conducted for the last three years in Jammu and Kashmir, new eligible electors could not get themselves registered in the electoral rolls, the letter noted.
” … in order to update electoral roll on the basis of newly delimitated constituencies, so that all newly eligible young electors can have the opportunity to get themselves enrolled, the exercise of Special Summary Revision with reference to the next qualifying date is required to be undertaken without further delay,” the letter said.
The electoral roll revision needs to be carried out before the first assembly election is conducted in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Setting in motion the process of holding assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission had earlier this month initiated the revision of electoral rolls following the delimitation exercise in the union territory and the draft rolls will be prepared by August 31.
According to the timeline, integrated draft electoral roll will be published on September 1. The entire month of September has been kept for filing claims and objections which are to be disposed of by October 15.
