Special polling stations set up for Kashmiri migrants

Jammu: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Friday said that the commission has set up special polling stations for Kashmiri migrants ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

“At least 26 special polling stations have been set up in Delhi, Jammu and Udhampur for the Kashmir migrants,” said CEC Rajiv Kumar while addressing the media persons along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.

He added that there is no need for cumbersome Form-M for Jammu and Udhampur.

“The decision to scrap the requirement of Form M was welcomed by all the stakeholders,” the CEC added.

He said that there are 3.71 lakh first-time voters, adding that on August 19, the Amarnath Yatra will conclude and on August 30, the final electoral rolls will be published and free copies will be made available to the political parties.

Earlier, the CEC announced that Assembly elections will be held in J&K at the earliest and dates would be announced after an overall review is taken when the election commission returns to back Delhi.

He said that since the Parliament passed the J&K Reorganisation Act in December 2023, there was no possibility of holding the Assembly elections in J&K before that.

“You have done during the Lok Sabha polls what had not happened here in many decades. People have laid the foundation and it is now time for us to build the superstructure on that firm foundation,” the CEC said.

He said that no external or internal force can prevent us from holding the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We are committed to holding the Assembly polls at the earliest,” the CEC said.