ELECTION IN JAMMU
AND KASHMIR
LOK SABHA
The Election Commission
of India has informed that it has not yet decided on the programme
for general election to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and
Kashmir.
The conduct of elections
to Legislative Assemblies and Parliament is the sole responsibility
of the Election Commission of India. The steps taken by the Election
Commission on its own/in consultation with the Central Government/State
Governmetn of Jammu & Kashmir in respect of conduct of free
and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir are summarized below:
Making available to
all concerned in the State clean, legible, computerized electoral
rolls of high accuracy, which would form the basis for the electorate
to cast their votes. The electoral rolls of all the 87 assembly
constituencies in the State have been computerized in Urdu and
copies thereof distributed, free of cost, to all recognized political
parties as well as to all those registered unrecognized political
parties in the State which have legislative presence i.e. which
have even one representative in the Legislative Assembly of Jammu
and Kashmir.
Using electronic voting
machines in all the polling stations. Provision of voting through
the electronic voting machines has also been extended to the Kashmiri
Pandit voters stationed in camps in Jammu and Delhi.
Rationalizing the
situation of polling stations by dispersing and locating them
as far as practicable at the locations indicated in the lists
of polling stations as available in the electoral rolls of 1988,
subject to the changes approved by the Commission so that not
more than three polling stations are housed in one building and
by and large no voter has to traverse more than two kilometers
to reach his polling station.
Issuing directions
to the law and order authorities to ensure that there is a measure
of equity amongst recognized political parties in getting security
cover so that their election campaign can take place on an equitable
basis. For this purpose, on the request of the Election Commission,
the Union Government has directed the State Government to provide
security cover, at the State cost, to one leader of each recognized
National and State Party in each of the Districts in the valley
and in the districts of Doda, Rajouri, Poonch and Jammu.
Issuance of special
Photo Identity Cards to voters in the State. The Election Commission,
in view fo the security implications of these cards, has entrusted
to the India Security Press, Nasik, the task of preparing pre-formatted,
pre-numbered photo identity cards on special security paper on
which the elector’s photograph furnished by him would be affixed
and the card laminated and issued to him.
Generation of voters
slips, through computerization of electoral rolls, on household
basis for the voters in the State and issuance thereof to them
at their doorsteps.
Sending senior civil
servants with known capabilities, proven track record and dynamism
as Observers to oversee the election process in the State.
This information was
given by the Union Minister of Law and Justice Shri K. Jana Krishnamurthi
in a written reply to a question from Shri Amar Roypradhan in
the Lok Sabha today.
