From July 6 to 9, the Delimitation Commission, which is tasked with carving out new constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir, will visit the Union territory for four days to meet with political parties, district officials, and other stakeholders and gather “firsthand information” on the ongoing process of redrawing the boundaries.
“During this time, the commission will meet with political parties, public representatives, and Union Territory administration officials, including district election officers/deputy commissioners from the Union territory’s 20 districts, to gather first-hand information and inputs on the ongoing delimitation process as mandated by the (Jammu &) Kashmir) Agreement.
Former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai leads the commission, which was established in March 2020 to redraw the Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies of J&K, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland.
Ex-officio members of the commission include Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, as well as election commissioners from J&K and the three states.
On June 26, the Hindustan Times reported that the commission planned to meet with stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir. For the first time in J&K, the commission, which has nearly nine months to complete the exercise, will carve out constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The constituencies will be created on the basis of “physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience”.
“There are considerations of a geographical nature, such as access in hilly districts. The commission will have to ensure that the most basic administrative block, whether it is the tehsil or the district, is not broken down in the process. This way there can be seamless elections and effective implementation of government schemes,” a person familiar with the matter said on June 26.
Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with political leaders from J&K to discuss the issue of delimitation. Modi had emphasised the importance of completing the delimitation process quickly so that elections could be held.
