A team of the ECI, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu, is to arrive in J&K on August 8
National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday (August 7) called for “a level playing field” during the upcoming Assembly elections in J&K. “Our only request to the Election Commission of India (ECI) is to issue the notification as soon as possible and start the process. All parties should be treated equally so that we can fight elections on a level playing field,” Mr. Abdullah said.
A team of the ECI, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu, is to arrive in J&K on Thursday.
The ECI will hold meetings with local political parties, assess the security situation, and review preparedness. J&K is likely to see its first ever Assembly elections as a Union Territory (UT) since it was downgraded from a State in 2019. J&K saw its last Assembly elections in 2014 and has been under Central rule since 2018.
The Supreme Court ordered the holding of elections by September 30 of this year.
Meanwhile, Mr. Abdullah expressed his unhappiness over the recent move to enhance the powers of the Lieutenant Governor of J&K. “For the time being, all the powers will be with him (LG). This government cannot escape fulfilling its promise of restoring full statehood. They promised restoration of Statehood in Parliament as well as in the SC. They would not dare lie to the SC,” Mr. Abdullah said.
He also opposed moves to introduce a Delhi or Pondicherry model of Statehood in J&K. “Full statehood should be restored,” he said.
