Srinagar, Nov 30: The Delimitation Commission on J&K has completed its draft report on new and reorganization of some old assembly seats in J&K, a report published in a Jammu-based media house said on Tuesday.
The commission is expected to submit the report to the central government by the end of February 2022. Then, in May and June, the procedure for election will also be completed after the formation of the assembly, the report said.
The commission is headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai.
The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are expected to be held next year once the delimitation process in complete.
According to reports, once the delimitation is complete, there are chances of a total of 90 seats in J&K’s new assembly. The previous assembly had 87 seats, of which four belonged to the Ladakh region which is now a separate union territory. There were 47 seats in the Valley and 36 in the Jammu region. As per reports, six to seven seats are likely to be added in the Jammu region and two new assembly constituencies may be created out of the existing ones in the Valley.
While most of the major political parties of J&K, notably the NC and PDP, have demanded restoration of statehood before the conduct of the assembly elections, latest hints dropped by the ruling BJP suggest that its government at the centre may not be in a mood to restore the statehood to J&K before the elections.
While political parties and units of the national parties like the BJP, Apni Party and the People’s Conference have also been raising the demand of the restoration of statehood in J&K before the assembly elections, observers are not sure whether these parties will eventually make the statehood restoration a precondition for the conduct of Assembly elections.
Political observers also believe that the actual positioning of the NC, PDP, Apni Party and PC would only be clear once the Delimitation Commission report is put in the public domain.
“It is possible that the draft report would put Kashmir region, which has the largest single ethnic group of the state in terms of population, and parts of Chanab and Pirpanjal Valley at an major electoral disadvantage. That situation might compel these regional parties to recalibrate their positioning”, a Jammu-based political analyst said.
Meanwhile, all major political parties have increased their political activities, including leaders of National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, People’s Conference and other small groups through public meetings and rallies.
