Delimitation Commission meets 400 delegations in J&K: activists, politicians express concerns about exercise

The commission was in the UT for the two day long public interaction program for receiving suggestions and objections on its draft delimitation proposal for the UT, that was on March 14 this year urging people to file their suggestions and objections. The J&K administration informed that the commission met 400 delegations from different parts of the UT during their interaction in Jammu and Srinagar.

In response to the draft delimitation proposal published in Gazette of India as well as in J&K Gazette, around 400 suggestions and representations with 4000 signatories were received by the commission till March 21, in wake of which the two day personal hearing session was scheduled in Jammu and Srinagar. The delegations were informed that the delimitation exercise has been carried out by the commission in a record time of two years despite the prevalence of Covid-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, delegations from Budgam, Baramulla, Srinagar and other areas put their representations before the commission, raising objections and suggesting some changes in the draft proposal that has made demarcation of the assembly and parliament segments across the UT. Earlier, the panel met the delegations in Jammu, where Congress and some other civil society members and panchayat representatives protested as well.

As per the draft proposal, the commission has kept two Lok Sabha seats each for Jammu and Kashmir divisions, while the Anantnag-Poonch Lok Sabha seat spreads across the two divisions. There is no reserved seat in the five Lok Sabha seats. The total number of assembly seats after the delimitation exercise will go up to 90 with a total increase of seven seats –– six in Jammu and one in Kashmir. This has narrowed the gap between the seats in the two divisions as Kashmir will have 47 seats while Jammu will have 43. In the new 90-member assembly as proposed by the commission, 16 seats have been reserved –– nine for ST and seven for SC –– of which, 13 are in the Jammu division ––seven SCs and six STs.

“They have joined east with the west and north pole with the south pole in this exercise. They aren’t aware of the geographical ground realities,” said Adil Nazir Khan, a district development council member from Tangmarg area of northern Kashmir. He also alleged that a slot of a few minutes wasn’t enough to express our concerns. “It seems this exercise was just a formality and if our suggestions are not incorporated then this directly hints the this was done to fulfil the agenda of a particular political party,” said Khan. His delegation carried a poster reading, “Google doesn’t know where the problem lies.” He also demanded that Kashmir should retain three Lok Sabha seats instead of reducing it to two and a half by putting parts of Poonch and Rajouri in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Another social activist Hamid Rather, who met the commission stated they have ignored the geographic homogeneity and administrative convenience especially, in some areas of Pattan and Tangmarg areas of northern Kashmir. “The proposed Kunzar constituency created on the basis of population (is fine) but geographic and administrative aspects and aspiration of the people be given due consideration as delimitation is for people not for stones and hills,” said Rather, in a memorandum he has submitted before the commission. Some people who arrived at the venue alleged that they weren’t allowed to meet the commission members as they had to submit some objections as well.

“Delimitation Commission assured the delegations who called on the Commission in Jammu as well as Srinagar that the commission shall consider their genuine suggestions/grievances sympathetically in accordance with the Delimitation Act,” spokesperson of the J&K administration informed in an official statement.

The commission headed by Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai was set up in March 2020 and included Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and State Election Commissioner (SEC) KK Sharma. After a one-year extension in March 2021, the commission was given a two-month extension on March 6 this year and has to submit a report before May 6. The three National Conference Lok Sabha members, who are the associate members of the commission have already submitted their objections before the commission, questioning the whole exercise, as the J&K Reorganisation Act, through which the commission was formed is under judicial scrutiny before the Supreme Court.

Union home minister Amit Shah had said that elections would be held in J&K in six to eight months. The officials informed that after the completion of the delimitation exercise, the Election Commission would start summary revision of the electoral rolls after which elections would be held.