New Delhi: Paving the way for assembly polls in the Union Territory, the delimitation commission on Thursday finalised its report recommending 90 Assembly constituencies and two nominated members of the Kashmiri migrant community for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
A day before the expiry of its term, the panel has recommended two nominated members (one of them a female) from the Kashmiri migrant community who will be given power at par with nominated members of the Legislative Assembly of Puducherry where the nominated members have the right to vote.
The delimitation commission, headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai and comprised Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Sushil Chandra and State Election Commissioner (SEC), KK Sharma, recommended 90 Assembly constituencies, changed the names of some constituencies and shifted a few Tehsils and Patwar Halqas from one segment to another.
It has also made a significant recommendation for the nomination of two Kashmiri migrants including a woman to the Legislative Assembly. For the refugees of Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), it has recommended that the Central government may consider giving these displaced persons some representation in the Assembly by way of the nomination of their representatives.
Nine constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and seven for Scheduled Castes (SC). All seven SC reserved seats fall in the Jammu division while out of nine constituencies reserved for STs, six are in Jammu region and three in the Kashmir division. The number of seats to be reserved for the SCs and STs in the Assembly was worked out on the basis of 2011 Census.
Gulabgarh (Reasi district), Rajouri, Budhal and Thanna Mandi (Rajouri district), Surankote and Mendhar (Poonch district) in Jammu region while AGurez (Bandipora), Kangan (Ganderbal) and Kokernag (Anantnag) district in Kashmir division have been reserved for ST candidates.
Ramnagar (Udhampur district), Kathua (Kathua district), Ramgarh (Samba), Bishnah, Suchetgarh, Marh and Akhnoor (Jammu district), all in Jammu region have been reserved for SC candidates.
The commission has given 47 Assembly seats to the Kashmir division, increase of one seat and 43 constituencies to Jammu region, increase of six seats as compared to the last assembly which was dissolved in 2018.
In the Kashmir division, the commission has renamed Tangmarg constituency as Gulmarg, Zoonimar as Zadibal and Sonwar as Lal Chowk. It also accepted representations pertaining to shifting of tehsils from one constituency to another.
In Jammu division, Darhal tehsil has been shifted from Budhal Assembly segment to Thanna Mandi while in Kashmir Srigufwara tehsil has been shifted from Pahalgam to Bijbehara, Kwarhama and Kunzar tehsils to Gulmarg and redrawing Wagoora-Kreeri Assembly seat having Kareeri and Khole tehsils and part of Wagoora and Tangmarg tehsils.
The commission has redrawn the Anantnag Parliamentary constituency in Kashmir by adding Rajouri and Poonch Assembly seats to it those fall in Jammu region. There are five Parliamentary constituencies in the Union Territory with each having 18 Assembly seats.
Five Parliamentary seats include Baramulla, Srinagar, Anantnag-Rajouri, Udhampur and Jammu. None of them is reserved either for SCs or for STs.
After draft proposals, the commission conducted a final round of internal meetings to examine suggestions and changed the names of some constituencies including Padder as Padder-Nagseni (Kishtwar district), Kathua North as Jasrota, Kathua South as Kathua (Kathua district), Khour as Chhamb (Jammu district), Mahore as Gulabgarh (Reasi district) and Darhal as Budhal (Rajouri district) in Jammu region.
According to the statement issued by the commission, “The commission has seen the Jammu and Kashmir region as one single Union Territory. Therefore, one of the Parliamentary constituencies has been carved out combining Anantnag region in the Valley and Rajouri and Poonch of Jammu region. By this reorganisation, each Parliamentary constituency will have an equal number of 18 Assembly constituencies.”
The commission, which visited the Union Territory twice during which it interacted with delegations as well as officials, associated five members of Lok Sabha elected from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir in its work. These were nominated by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Notably, the delimitation order will come into effect from the date notified by the central government. As per the final Delimitation Order, out of the 90 assembly constituencies, 43 will be part of the Jammu region and 47 of the Kashmir region.
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra told ANI that one of the parliamentary constituencies has been carved out combining the Anantnag region in the Valley and the Rajouri and Poonch of the Jammu region. By this reorganisation, each parliamentary constituency will have an equal number of 18 assembly constituencies each.
Chandra was further quoted as saying that the Commission ensured that every assembly constituency shall be contained entirely in one district and the lowest administrative units – patwar circles (and wards in Jammu Municipal Corporation) were not broken and were kept in a single constituency.
Delimitation Commission has become extension of BJP: Mehbooba Mufti
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said that the commission has become an “extension of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”, adding that the panel was set up to disempower the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
In an interaction with media, she said, “What delimitation? One that has become an extension of the BJP? That overlooked the basis of population and acted as per their wish. We outrightly reject it. We don`t trust it. Its recommendations are a link to the abrogation of Article 370 – how to disempower the people of J&K.”
Mufti further said that what is happening across the country today is a matter of concern. The atmosphere that is being created, especially against the minorities, is not being created by goons but BJP governments are supporting the `Gunda elements`.
Pakistan rejects J&K Delimitation report, hands a demarche to India’s Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has summoned India’s Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad and handed a demarche conveying Islamabad’s categorical rejection of the Delimitation Commission report.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office, which summoned India’s Charge d’Affaires to the ministry, told the Indian diplomat that the Delimitation Commission was aimed at “disenfranchising and disempowering” the Muslim majority population of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan categorically rejects the report of the so-called ‘Delimitation Commission’ for Jammu and Kashmir, the Foreign Office said in a statement.
Citing the statement, a PTI report said that the Indian side was conveyed that the entire exercise was farcical and had already been rejected by the cross-section of political parties in Jammu and Kashmir because, through this effort, India only wanted to lend ‘legitimacy’ to its illegal actions of August 5, 2019.
India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019 by the country’s Parliament was its internal matter.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
