Over 35,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandits from across the country will be eligible to exercise their franchise tomorrow at 24 special polling stations in the first phase of the three-phase assembly elections to be held in four districts of South Kashmir.
This is the first assembly election held in 35 years since the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. At the insistence of the BJP leadership in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has simplified the voting procedure for the displaced Kashmiri people and done away with the cumbersome M-form process to ensure smooth participation of the displaced people in the elections.
The displaced Kashmiri Pandits will exercise their franchise in 16 constituencies in South Kashmir’s Anantnag, Pulwama, Chaupin and Kulgam districts.
“As many as 35,500 Kashmiri migrant voters in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi will be eligible to vote tomorrow at 24 special polling stations set up for the first phase of elections in their respective locations,” Deepak Kumar, assistant returning officer for migrants, told Excelsior.
He said that out of the 24 special polling stations set up for the displaced persons from the Valley, 19 have been set up in Jammu district alone, one in Udhampur and four in Delhi.
Kumar said 34,852 displaced voters have registered in Jammu and exercised their franchise at 19 polling stations there.
Similarly, 648 Kashmiri migrant voters registered in Udhampur and Delhi and cast their votes at one polling station in Udhampur and four in Delhi, he said.
Although most Kashmiri Pandits live in Delhi, only about 600 have registered to contest the elections.
“We have made all arrangements for a free and fair vote tomorrow,” said the Assistant Returning Officer for Immigration.
He said security measures had been beefed up at all polling stations and facilities had been provided for elderly, women and voters with disabilities.
“Migrant Kashmiri voters who choose to vote in person through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be given access to 24 polling booths, including 19 in Jammu, one in Udhampur and four in Delhi,” he said.
Amid tight security, the authorities handed over voting materials including electronic voting machines to the polling parties at Jammu College for Women. Security forces and election parties are being deployed to their respective sites, officials said.
A total of 16 voting booths have been set up in each polling station, representing all 16 constituencies in South Kashmir that will go to polls tomorrow.
In Jammu, special polling booths have been set up at the following locations: Government College for Girls, Gandhi Nagar Jammu, Indian Institute of Management, Jammu, Canal road, Accountants Training, North Zone, Muthi College, Department of Economics and Statistics, Janipur, Purkhoo Migrant School, Golepulli Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Complex, Talab Tillo, Muthi Government Mixed Higher Secondary School, Nagrota Jammu Migrant School, Jagti Government Higher Secondary School, Barnai Anuradha Higher Secondary School, Udheywala Agricultural University Complex, Rehari Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education, Jagti Government Higher Secondary School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bantalab Jammu, Sant Mela Singh Educational College near Digiana Ashram, Sarvodya Public School, By Pass Santra Morh, Miran Sahab Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Birla Open Minds International School, Channi Himmat and NSM College Anand Nagar Bohri.
The only polling station for displaced persons from Udhampur valley has been set up at Government ITI, Udhampur, while in Delhi, four polling stations have been set up at J&K House 5, Prithviraj Road, New Delhi, office of Deputy Director, Horticulture Planning and Marketing, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, Government Girls High School, Paprawat, New Delhi and Alvarezin International School, Sector F, Dilshad Garden, Delhi.
The displaced Kashmiri Pandits will exercise their franchise in 16 constituencies in South Kashmir’s Anantnag, Pulwama, Chaupin and Kulgam districts.
“As many as 35,500 Kashmiri migrant voters in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi will be eligible to vote tomorrow at 24 special polling stations set up for the first phase of elections in their respective locations,” Deepak Kumar, assistant returning officer for migrants, told Excelsior.
He said that out of the 24 special polling stations set up for the displaced persons from the Valley, 19 have been set up in Jammu district alone, one in Udhampur and four in Delhi.
Kumar said 34,852 displaced voters have registered in Jammu and exercised their franchise at 19 polling stations there.
Similarly, 648 Kashmiri migrant voters registered in Udhampur and Delhi and cast their votes at one polling station in Udhampur and four in Delhi, he said.
Although most Kashmiri Pandits live in Delhi, only about 600 have registered to contest the elections.
“We have made all arrangements for a free and fair vote tomorrow,” said the Assistant Returning Officer for Immigration.
He said security measures had been beefed up at all polling stations and facilities had been provided for elderly, women and voters with disabilities.
“Migrant Kashmiri voters who choose to vote in person through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be given access to 24 polling booths, including 19 in Jammu, one in Udhampur and four in Delhi,” he said.
Amid tight security, the authorities handed over voting materials including electronic voting machines to the polling parties at Jammu College for Women. Security forces and election parties are being deployed to their respective sites, officials said.
A total of 16 voting booths have been set up in each polling station, representing all 16 constituencies in South Kashmir that will go to polls tomorrow.
In Jammu, special polling booths have been set up at the following locations: Government College for Girls, Gandhi Nagar Jammu, Indian Institute of Management, Jammu, Canal road, Accountants Training, North Zone, Muthi College, Department of Economics and Statistics, Janipur, Purkhoo Migrant School, Golepulli Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Complex, Talab Tillo, Muthi Government Mixed Higher Secondary School, Nagrota Jammu Migrant School, Jagti Government Higher Secondary School, Barnai Anuradha Higher Secondary School, Udheywala Agricultural University Complex, Rehari Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education, Jagti Government Higher Secondary School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bantalab Jammu, Sant Mela Singh Educational College near Digiana Ashram, Sarvodya Public School, By Pass Santra Morh, Miran Sahab Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Birla Open Minds International School, Channi Himmat and NSM College Anand Nagar Bohri.
The only polling station for displaced persons from Udhampur valley has been set up at Government ITI, Udhampur, while in Delhi, four polling stations have been set up at J&K House 5, Prithviraj Road, New Delhi, office of Deputy Director, Horticulture Planning and Marketing, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, Government Girls High School, Paprawat, New Delhi and Alvarezin International School, Sector F, Dilshad Garden, Delhi.
A total of six candidates from the community contested in the first phase of the election.
Veer Saraf of the BJP and Maharaj Krishan Yogi of the APNI will contest in Shangus constituency, while Sanjay Saraf will contest in Anantnag as the candidate of the Lok Janata Party (LJSP). Independent Dilip Pandita will also contest in Shangus-Anantnag constituency. Rosie Raina and Arun Raina will contest in Rajpora and Pulwama constituencies as the candidates of the Republican Party of India and the Nationalist Congress Party respectively.
Follow us On Social Media Google News and Twitter/X