Srinagar: Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission of India will be visiting the Union Territory from August 8 and will be meeting political parties in Srinagar. An official source in the ECI said that the team will be led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and two Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and SS Sandhu.
The ECI team will meet political party representatives in Srinagar at SKICC and the meeting will begin at 10.30 am. The ECI has sent invitations to the political parties for the meeting. The political parties confirmed to ETV Bharat about meeting the ECI on August 8.
The invitations have been sent through Chief Electoral Officer Jammu and Kashmir PK Pole. "The Election Commission of India has desired to meet the representatives on August 8 at 10.30 am in SKICC, Srinagar," reads the letter from the CEO to the parties. "As such you cordially requested to send the representatives nominated by your party to meet the Election Commission of India on the scheduled date, time and venue."
National Conference Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani said that the party has received an invitation from the CEO for the meeting. "We will demand the holding of Assembly elections in the meeting, which are long overdue. Delaying elections will be a betrayal of the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," Wani told ETV Bharat.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said that he will be leading the PCC delegation, which will comprise senior vice-president GN Monga and former minister Peerzada Muhammad Syed.
"Assembly elections are due in the Jammu and Kashmir. We will demand ECI not to delay the polls for a day and conduct them as soon as possible so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will have their elected government and not a bureaucratic Raj," Sharma told ETV Bharat.
A PDP leader said that the party has received the invitation and its delegation will be led by party General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone (Hanjura). CPI (M) state secretary MY Tarigami said that three leaders, including Abbas Rather, Abdul Rashid Ittu and Ghulam Muhammad Shah, are meeting the ECI.
A BJP leader said that their delegation will meet the ECI and the party president will nominate the representatives for the meeting. Sources said the ECI team will hold meetings with Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Director General of Police RR Swain and other security agencies about their feedback and response on holding the elections.
Political parties are demanding Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which were last held in 2014. The ECI visit follows in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's directions to the Government of India to hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir before September 30.
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