Monday’s “all-party conference” in Srinagar will be held by the National Conference (N.C.) to address the “inclusion of non-local voters” in the updated election records in Jammu and Kashmir.
Parties such as N.C. and Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party, or PDP, asserted that the administration had not addressed their main concern regarding whether “outsiders” who ordinarily reside in J-K will be allowed to register as voters. The meeting will discuss the clarification issued by the administration on this matter.
“The conference will thus cover every topic in detail. The discussion will include an explanation as well. According to PDP Chief Spokesperson Suhail Bukhari, every party would give their viewpoint during the conference.
Farooq Abdullah, the president of N.C., called the meeting to discuss the “inclusion of non-local voters” in the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir after remarks made by the chief electoral officer of the UT, Hirdesh Kumar, about the inclusion of voters in the revised rolls, incensed the local parties.
The administration clarified on Saturday, claiming that there would likely be an increase in voter registration of more than 25 lakh after the brief adjustment of electoral records is “misrepresentations of facts by entrenched interests.”
The document said that the Kashmiri migrants “would continue to have the choice of voting at their place of enlistment, via mail ballot, or through specifically built up polling booths in Jammu, Udhampur, Delhi, etc.
The rise in voters must be 18 or older as of October 1, 2022, or before, according to the statement. “This revision of electoral records will encompass current inhabitants of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” it stated.
The “inclusion of non-locals was a clear-cut plot to disenfranchise the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” according to mainstream political parties.
The all-party conference called by the N.C. president at his home will still go a place, notwithstanding the explanation, according to the political parties.
“The ‘clarification’ provided by DIPR is tacit approval of the Chief Election Officer’s remark. doesn’t answer our concerns about giving non-locals the ability to vote in large numbers. Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the PDP, said on Sunday that there was “yet another plan to evict people from J&K.”
According to the National Conference, the clarification does not address whether or not “outsiders” living on J-K may cast ballots.
According to National Conference (N.C.) state spokesman Imran Nabi Dar, “the most crucial issue of voting rights to foreigners customarily resident in J-K” is not clearly defined.
Dar suggested that the government define precisely what it meant by “normally living individuals.”
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“The issue is that a laborer has arrived here and is working. When a person has resided somewhere for around seven or eight years, he becomes entitled to vote, but there is no need for written documentation as there is in other areas.
Any such individual is permitted to visit for two months, cancel their voter registration at home, register to vote here, and then leave. Therefore, if someone stays for two months, is he also entitled to register as a voter in this location? Said the N.C. state spokeswoman.
Following a political reaction, the government explained advertising in local publications. PDP chief spokesman Suhail Bukhari said the all-party conference would go as planned and cover all topics, including the government’s response.
He said that the statements about the admission of non-locals were made by none other than the top election official.
The Congress party said that some of its members would also be there on Saturday.
According to AICC in-charge J.K. Rajani Patil, the party opposes the inclusion of non-locals on the voting records and is considering taking the government to court over its decision.
The Peoples Conference, headed by Sajad Lone, has not yet responded to the participation in the meeting or the explanation. At the same time, the Apni Party, led by Altaf Bukhari, seems to be happy with the answer from the administration. PTI DV SSB DV
