J&K polls: EC officials to meet home secretary to evaluate security situation

ECI to Meet Union Home Secretary to Review Security for J&K Polls

The Election Commission of India (ECI) officials are to meet Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla to evaluate the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir as they decide on a poll date for the union territory, AIR has reported.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and his team were recently in J&K to assess the preparedness for the elections, which will be the first after the scrapping of Article 370 in August 2019 and bifurcation of the border state into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The Commission will discuss the logistics required to ensure security and safety of candidates and voters, given the recent increase in terror activities in the region.

In addition to security concerns, the Election Commission will also look as the weather, the ongoing apple harvesting and the seasonal migration of nomadic tribes before deciding to poll dates, reports said.

The publication of the revised electoral rolls on August 20 after the conclusion of the Amarnath Yatra is expected to pave the way for the announcement of the election schedule.

The Supreme Court while upholding the government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir ordered that elections to the assembly be held by September 2024.