J&K Waits with Bated Breath as ECI Delegation Assesses Poll Preparedness

MK News Network 

Jammu, Aug 8: As the Election Commission of India (ECI) is on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir and is meeting political parties, Union Territory (UT) officials and security agencies, people of different regions are keeping a close watch on the outcome of this visit.
This visit is being seen as a make or break to set the ball rolling for holding Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir which is without an elected government for the last six years.

It was in 2014 when the Assembly elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir after which two ideologically different political parties, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) came together to form the coalition government in the erstwhile state which for the time allowed the saffron party to be part of any state government.
As per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) delegations of various political parties met the ECI and expressed their demand of holding Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The ECI delegation is headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu are accompanying the CEC.
Talking to KNO, J&K National Panthers Party (J&KNPP) leader Harsh Dev Singh, after meeting the ECI delegation, said that the ECI gave a patient hearing to their demands of holding elections. “I have filed the case in the Supreme Court and after which the September 30 deadline has been given and I hope that ECI will keep the SC direction paramount. We put forth our demand to hold early Assembly elections and like in the past there should be no empty slogans,” Harsh Dev Singh said.
People from different sections of society also want ECI to announce the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I am a strong believer of giving powers to representatives of people and there is no alternative to it. ECI should announce the elections but at the same time the situation which has arisen due to security issues must be dealt strongly,” Gaurav Gupta, secretary Jammu Club and former member of Chamber of Commerce and Industries Jammu—(KNO)