KEEP FINGERS CROSSED

Taking another step further towards holding much-awaited assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, after the formal submission of the final report by the Delimitation Commission on May 5, 2022, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar has conducted a maiden meeting with the concerned Election officials of the Union Territory of J&K to take stock of necessary preparations for the Assembly elections. It is really a matter of satisfaction for the masses of the Union Territory that fulfilling its commitment made with the people regarding holding of elections in J&K, the present government is step by step moving forward and is expected to reach its destination very soon. The meeting convened by the CEC with all the Deputy Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir proved that the election commission has started the process for conducting the democratic exercise in J&K and necessary arrangements are being finalized in this regard. Pertinent to mention here that few days back, directives were already issued to the Deputy Commissioners of all the districts who also happen to be the District Electoral Officers (DEOs) to make necessary arrangements for rationalizations of booths besides submitting proposals regarding appointment of EROs and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs). As per sources, as the summary reason of electoral rolls have not been done from the last 3 years in J&K, it is necessary to carry out the exercise before formal announcement of the elections. But as the Union Territory is all set to host the annual Amarnath Pilgrimage, after a gap of two years, 9 out of the 20 Deputy Commissioners of J&K are already busy with the preparations for ensuring smooth Yatra without any hindrance. Looking at this scenario, it seems that the necessary exercise, which will take a span of four to five months to get completed, will be started only after August 15 thereby paving way to hold Assembly elections in J&K as per the new arrangement finalized by the delimitation commission in its final order. Overall, the people should not worry and keep faith on the administration as it is busy in fulfilling the commitment made with the people in respect of assembly elections in J&K.

editorial article