Srinagar/New Delhi: The Election Commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, will visit Jammu and Kashmir from August 8-10 to assess preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections. This visit comes ahead of the Supreme Court's September 30 deadline for conducting the elections in the region.
During the visit, the Commission will first meet with political parties in Srinagar. It will then evaluate preparations with election officers, police superintendents, the chief secretary, and the director general of police.
On August 10, the Commission will move to Jammu for a review meeting with enforcement agencies and will hold a press conference to brief the media on the process.
The upcoming Assembly elections will be the first since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganization of the state into two “Union Territories” in 2019.
Following a delimitation exercise, the number of Assembly seats increased from 83 to 90, with six additional seats allocated to the Jammu division and one additional seat to the Kashmir valley.
In December, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to conduct the Assembly elections by September 30.
Recent indications of imminent elections include the Commission’s request for the J&K administration to transfer officers from their home districts and the recent update of electoral rolls.