Srinagar (TIP)- All the major national and regional parties, including the BJP, on Thursday, August 8, were unanimous and forceful in their appeal to the visiting team of the Election Commission of India (EC), headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, to hold early Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which is under Central rule since 2018.
“We demanded a free and fair election in J&K. We expect the elections to be concluded much earlier than the deadline of September 30 set by the Supreme Court (SC),” senior BJP leader R.S. Pathania said, after attending the EC meeting at Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). The BJP also demanded adequate security for those political workers whose security has been withdrawn.
The Supreme Court, in its judgement on provisions of Article 370 in December last year, had passed directions on holding elections in J&K by September 30, 2024. The last Assembly election in J&K was held back in 2014 and remains under Central rule since 2018.
The Congress urged the EC to abide by the top court’s timeline on elections. “We discussed the need for peaceful and secure elections. The security of Opposition leaders and party workers must be ensured. We have submitted a memorandum on elections to be held as per the SC’s direction and deadlines,” Congress leader G.N. Monga said.
Representatives of regional parties also attended the EC’s meeting in Srinagar and demanded early elections. “We told the Commission that there has been no government since 2018 and no elections for 10 years. We need representatives to address political, development, and security issues. We asked for a level-playing field and unbiased decisions. The Election Commission assured us elections will happen,” National Conference (NC) provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lamented the earlier decision of the EC not to hold Assembly and Lok Sabha elections together during the meeting. It also pointed out that “the EC and not the SC should have decided on holding elections in J&K”. “J&K has seen a peaceful conduct of the Amarnath Yatra, Lok Sabha elections, growing tourism, etc. We urged the EC to hold Assembly elections as soon as possible, given the peaceful situation,” PDP leader Khursheed Alam said.