Srinagar: The Delimitation Commission arrived in Srinagar, Kashmir on Tuesday to meet dozens of delegations and to listen to their objections and apprehensions over the draft report. The commission headed by Justice (R) Ranjana Desia and comprising Chief Election Commissioner of India Sushil Chandra, State Election Commissioner of JK KK Sharma, and Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar held meetings with more than 400 representatives from the Kashmir valley at SKICC in Srinagar.
The meetings began today at 10 am and will be completed in two sittings with a second sitting in the afternoon. The commission has been authorized to draft six assembly segments in Jammu and one in Kashmir under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019. Barring BJP, mainstream political parties have opposed the commission's recommendations.
The delegations gave various opinions over their meetings with the commission in Srinagar. "We don't expect any justice to our constituency after meeting them, but as public representatives, we had to put forward our objections to it," Inayatullah Ahmad, Congress leader from Kulgam told ETV Bharat. A panchayat member from Kokernag, Shameema said that the commission heard their objection to restoring the name of Kokernag from Larnoo which was recommended by the commission. Civil society representatives from Kunzer Ishaq Ahmad said that they had come to express gratitude to the commission for redrawing the Kunzer assembly segment.
The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir had 111 seats including 24 reserved for PoK and elections were being held for 87 assembly seats. In the previous Assembly, Kashmir had 46 seats, Jammu 37, and Ladakh 4. After the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two UTs of JK and Ladakh, the Assembly seats were reduced to 83 seats as four seats of Ladakh got scrapped since the UT will have no legislature. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act the number of assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir will be increased from 107 to 114 including 24 seats that are reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) while the election will be held for 90 seats.
Also read: Delimitation Commission begins two-day interaction with public, J-K political leaders
