Sources from Election Commission has confirmed the electoral future of Jammu and Kashmir. It has been reported that the elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in the year 2021 after the delimitation exercise for parliamentary and assembly constituencies take place.
It is expected that the delimitation exercise will begin after 31 October. It might take around 10 to 15 months before the constituencies are delineated for the final list. After the Home Ministry and Delimitation commission gives it a go, the ground preparation of the exercise will start.
Jammu and Kashmir saw delimitation in 1995, as a result of which the former state got 111 assembly constituencies. Sources from Election Commission said that after the proposed delimitation, Jammu & Kashmir is expected to get 114 seats. 24 of it will be reserved for POK (Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir). That leaves 90 seats open for polls.
The sources also said that the Jammu region might see an increase in the share of seats while the Kashmir region may get a lesser number of seats from before. Jammu has 37 seats presently, and this tally is expected to reach a figure of 44 after the delimitation. Kashmir might lose seats due to creation of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory.
In 2014 assembly elections, Jammu region saw the victory of Bhartiya Janta Party while Kashmir region saw the rise of Mehbooba Mufti‘s Peoples Democratic Party.
Centre had abrogated special status of Jammu and Kashmir by repealing Article 370. The Union government also divide the erstwhile state into 2 Union territories- Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh division. The newly created structure, therefore, demands the delimitation of constituencies on new lines to better meet the administrative concerns of the region.
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