It is expected that the commission will submit its final report by May, paving the way for holding of elections in J&K. J&K had last seen a delimitation exercise only in 1995. This is the second extension given to the panel.
Following the bifurcation of the state on August 5, 2019, a delimitation panel was set up in March 2020 with former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai as its chairperson and Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra on board. The panel was originally to submit its report by March 2021 but it sought more time citing Covid-19-related exigencies and was given an extension of term until March 2022.
However, the Commission recently sought an additional two months.
With the CEC busy with ongoing assembly polls and his term set to end in mid-May, it is expected that the delimitation panel will complete its work once the election process for the five states wraps up on March 10.
The panel is already in advanced stages of preparing its report. It had recently shared a second paper on the proposed delimitation of constituencies.
According to Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly are to increase from 107 to 114 with due reservations for SC and STs.
In its first draft shared with associate members in December 2021, the panel proposed six additional assembly constituencies in Jammu division and one in Kashmir taking the tally to 47 seats in Kashmir and 43 in Jammu.It has also proposed nine seats for STs and seven seats for SCs.
In its second draft shared earlier this month, the panel has redrawn all 90 assembly constituencies, renamed 28 new constituencies besides reconfiguring or deleting 19 existing constituencies from the list of the last delimitation.
In Jammu division, six new assembly seats have been created in Kathua, Samba, Rajouri, Doda, Udhampur and Kishtwar districts. The commission has also named one constituency as Shri Mata Vaishno Devi has also been created comprising areas of Katra and parts of Reasi.
In Kashmir division, one assembly seat, namely Trehgam, has been created in the frontier district of Kupwara.
The second draft has drawn strong reaction from most Kashmir based parties which have alleged that the exercise is favourable to the BJP and its allies and designed to ensure the dominance of Jammu division in any future electoral arrangement.
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