The Delimitation Commission arrived in Srinagar today (July 6) on a four-day visit to interact with political leaders, civil society groups and other stakeholders to gather first-hand inputs to carve out new constituencies in J&K, officials said.
The commission’s visit comes within a fortnight of the high-level meeting of eight political parties from J&K with PM Narendra Modi in Delhi on June 24.
The delimitation commission is headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra Sharma and State Election Commissioner (SEC) KK Sharma. In the absence of the Legislative Assembly, National Conference and BJP Lok Sabha members were nominated as associate members of the Delimitation Commission but did not have any voting rights.
The members of the commission will begin their programme from Pahalgam, where they will meet officials of the four districts of South Kashmir—Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian. The members will meet political leaders in the capital Srinagar later in the day.
The commission has given each party 20 minutes to express their opinions on the delimitation procedure in J&K. According to PTI, the NC has been assigned a time slot of 5.10 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
The NC initially boycotted the commission, claiming that it had filed a judicial challenge to the J&K Reorganisation Act, but changed its mind after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted an all-party meeting on June 24. After the delimitation process, the People’s Alliance of Gupkar Declaration has advocated for the restoration of statehood.
