'Don't detain....': What EC told J&K officials to avoid to boost participation in polls

In a bid to boost participation in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the Election Commission (EC) has asked local administration and security forces to avoid unnecessary preventive detentions of political leaders and workers.

Instructions were also issued against shifting or merging polling booths and cancelling political rallies at the last moment, issues that have been prevalent in past elections.

During a visit to J&K last month, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, said that preventive actions should be taken only against individuals with criminal records and not in a biased manner, according to The Indian Express citing EC sources.

In past elections there were allegations of political leaders and party workers being detained just before voting.

To support candidate participation, the ECI has directed officials to grant permits for rallies and events in a timely manner and to avoid last-minute cancellations, the report said.

According to EC data, political parties and candidates in J&K have submitted over 3,000 requests for campaign permissions, with more than 2,200 approved and around 327 rejected as of this week. The elections, set to begin on September 18, mark the first Assembly polls in J&K since its special status was revoked in 2019.