Hirdesh Kumar, the chief electoral officer for Jammu and Kashmir, revealed on Wednesday that residents of other parts of the country who are studying or running a business in the Union Territory are eligible to register as voters and exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections in the formerly autonomous state, likely to be held next year.
Approximately 25 lakh new voters are expected to be enrolled in the Union Territory, according to the CEO, as the special summary revision of electoral rolls is conducted for the first time after Article 370 was repealed in 2019.
He added that it was a “challenging task” to finish the special summary review of the electoral rolls before November 25.
The extensive effort to finish the procedure on time is ongoing, Kumar said, in order to give a final list that is “error-free” and includes all eligible voters, including those who will have reached the age of 18 on October 1, 2022, or earlier.
The election commission recently announced a revised schedule, which states that an integrated draft electoral roll will be published on September 15 and that claims and objections may be filed between September 15 and October 25. Claims and objections may then be resolved on November 10 according to the revised schedule.
Prior to the release of the final electoral rolls on November 25, the commission’s approval for final publication, the updating of the database, and the printing of supplements were scheduled for November 19.
“The special summary revision of electoral rolls is taking place for the first time after January 1, 2019, and given that many children have reached the age of 18 or older during the past three years, we expect significant changes in the voter list.
In addition, anyone who is living ordinarily can also take advantage of the opportunity to get enlisted as a voter in J&K by the provisions of the representation of the Peoples Act, Kumar told reporters here. “After the abrogation of Article 370, many people who were not enlisted as voters in the erstwhile state of J&K are now eligible to vote,” Kumar said.
According to him, J&K is expected to have 98 lakh adults over the age of 18, but the most recent voter list only shows 76 lakh registered voters.
In the final list, “we are expecting an addition of 20 to 25 lakh new voters,” Kumar stated, adding that the Booth Level Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, and District Election Officers have been sensitised to ensure that the final list will be “error-free” and will also cover all the eligible voters.
A person does not require a domicile certificate from J&K in order to register to vote, according to Kumar. “Anyone who is typically residing in J&K, including employees, students, labourers, and people from outside, may add their name to the voting list. The concerned government officials will examine the materials and make a determination regarding whether to accept the claim. Like in the past, he said, many J&K residents who are serving in the armed forces and paramilitary organisations and are stationed outside of the Union Territory have the option to register as service voters and can take advantage of the option of a postal ballot to cast their vote when the time comes for elections.
“Similarly, those from various parts of the country who are assigned here have the choice to register as voters if they are posted in a peace station. Anyone from outside who is stationed in the armed services in Jammu has the choice to register as a voter, he said.
He said that the number of assembly seats in J&K grew to 90 after the delimitation commission submitted its report on May 5 and the union law ministry put the report into effect on May 20.
Every one of the 90 constituencies has seen a change of some kind… According to Kumar, who expressed satisfaction over the continuing pre-SSR operations, we are currently working on mapping of existing constituencies with new constituencies, and it will be followed by the special summary revision (SSR).
According to him, 600 more polling places have been added, bringing the total number of polling places in Jammu & Kashmir to 11,370.
According to Kumar, the commission intends to conduct door-to-door campaigning and set up special camps in educational facilities to raise awareness among the eligible voters.
The purpose of linking Aadhaar numbers with electoral roll data, according to the chief electoral officer, is to establish the identity of voters and authenticate entries on the electoral roll. This is done through the modified registration forms.
He said that new voter identification cards with enhanced security features would be issued by the commission.
He said that there is already an unique provision for Kashmiri migrants living outside the valley that enables them to exercise their right to vote.
They (migrant Kashmiri Pandits) are registered to vote in their native constituencies. For the registration of new voters, specialised camps are being held for them in a number of locations, including Delhi, Jammu, and Udhampur. All of them will receive voter ID cards, he added.
The notion that Muslim Rohingya refugees who have sought refuge in Jammu and other areas can register as voters was dismissed by him. ”We have officers in place and they know their duty”.
He said that the Election Commission of India has the power to choose when assembly elections will take place.
(With Inputs from PTI and others)
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