Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Mar 20: Even as the notification of first Phase of Lok Sabha elections was issued by Election Commission of India (ECI) today, there is no clarity about the procedure of migrant voters from Kashmir who have been seeking the deletion of M Form procedure and simplification of postal ballot system for years together.
Sources said the voting procedure for the Kashmiri migrants putting up in Jammu and other parts of country has been made cumbersome by the ECI and this is a main hurdle in their way to exercise their right to franchise. The migrants over the years have been demanding the deletion of M Form procedure and simplification of postal ballot system in case the Government is interested that they should exercise their right to franchise like other citizens of the country, sources added.
However, the concerned officials dealing with electoral process of migrants admitted that the ECI in principle has agreed to simplify the M Form procedure so that the migrant voters don’t face any problem in casting their vote and also adopt online system for Postal Ballot but the notification in this regard is still awaited. They added that nothing concrete can be said in this regard till ECI notification.
The officials said that recently during the meeting with ECI by the State Election authorities various issues of how to increase the migrants participation in the voting were discussed. It was also suggested that the migrant employees working in Srinagar be granted holiday on polling day to ensure that they can cast their vote. However, formal notification in this regard is also awaited, they added.
It may be recalled that various organisations of Kashmiri migrants including the BJP leaders of the community have taken up this issue with higher ups in the Government as well as ECI. They had made it categorical to the authorities that in case they mean that migrants should participate fully in the democratic process by casting their vote the Government needs to simplify the procedure and in this regard various suggestions were given to them.
Sources said over the years there has been low turnout of displaced Kashmiri voters in Jammu and Kashmir owing to multiple factors. Among them two important factors which can be attributed to the low voting percentage of migrant voters include lack of reaching out to the displaced community and the other main factor is the cumbersome voting process which needs to be eased out, sources added.
Sources said In “Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act 1957”, there is already a special provision in Section 36 A to provide polling stations outside the territorial limits of the constituency to enable such class of persons of those constituencies as may be specified by the Election Commission in consultation with the Government of the State. For facility of reference, the Section 36 A says there is a provision of polling stations outside the territorial limits of a constituency for security reasons. Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 36, the District Election Officer shall, with the previous approval of the Election Commission, provide polling stations, outside the territorial limits of the constituency lying within his jurisdiction, to enable such class of persons of that constituency as may be notified under Sub-Section (2) to vote at an election.
Moreover the Election Commission may, in consultation with the Government, by notification in the Gazette, specify such class of persons for the purposes of Sub- Section (1) who for reasons of security are not in a position to give their votes in the polling station provided under section 36. This Act is no more effective as after 5th August 2019 as Central laws are applicable to the UT and, therefore, this provision of migrant voter needs a revisit to make process simpler, sources added.
Sources said as per the 1957 Act, in both the cases migrant voter has to get his name verified from the Gazetted Officers in order to become eligible for voting in his particular constituency, thus making it difficult for the voter to complete the process and solution to this should be that in both specified voter and notified voter there should not be any such process of getting vetted by Gazetted Officer.
The migrants are demanding M Form process needs to be removed from the process and as such migrant voter should be made to vote in the special polling stations at their present place of address.
Maintaining that distribution of EPIC is important as after delimitation process, sources said each and every voter needs a new voter card as one new Assembly constituency has been added in Kashmir which has changed the Assembly constituency number of each constituency. This process will also ensure identification of the displaced Kashmiri voter with present address and contact numbers which will enable to identify the voter as per his present address.
Election Wing of Relief and Rehabilitation Department has already taken up the process of distribution of EPIC No./ Voter cards for migrant voters from past few months, however, the same needs to be executed with faster pace so as to ensure each and every Kashmiri migrant voter gets the EPIC No./Voter cards which will ensure voter identification process is streamlined, sources added.
In order to make high percentage of KP voters turnout possible, postal ballot plays an important role but for same the postal ballots are sent to ROs in Kashmir or concerned DCs. This process is time consuming. So the simple solution be adopted and a dedicated RO be placed in Relief and Rehabilitation Office Jammu which already has a functional Election Wing with a designated ARO which will make the postal ballot voter percentage increase by many folds, sources said.
Over the years special polling station for migrant voters living outside Jammu and Kashmir are only set up in New Delhi, sources said. Since Kashmiri migrant voters are spread all-over the country so multiple polling stations must be set up at different cities of India where migrant voters live in large numbers, they added.
Sources said there is also no clarity over the total number of migrant votes, number of EPICs prepared, number of EPICs distributed and status of M-Forms which the authorities must clear to ensure majority of migrants putting up outside Kashmir can cast their vote.
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