SRINAGAR: The Election Commission team headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora arrived in summer capital, Srinagar on a two-day on Monday to assess the ground situation for holding Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the Jammu and Kashmir presently under President’s rule which is ending in May 2019.
The poll panel team is scheduled to meet leaders of different political parties at a local hotel here this afternoon to get their feed back for holding Parliament and Assembly elections together.
Almost all mainstream local and national political parties have already announced that they are ready to participate in the polls. The National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have boycotted Panchayat and Municipal elections in the state on the issue of Article 35A and 370.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has time and again said that holding timely elections in the Jammu and Kashmir will be a litmus test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The poll panel will later get a detailed brief from Divisional Commissioners and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir and Ladakh. The team will also hold a meeting with other senior civil and police and paramilitary officers before flying to winter capital, Jammu in the evening.
The Assembly election has to be held before the deadline which ends in May 2019. As per a Supreme Court ruling, the outer limit for holding fresh polls after dissolution of a House is six months.
The SC verdict on a Presidential reference had also said the polls have to be held on the first occasion which means even before the six-month period.
The PDP-BJP coalition government collapsed after the saffron party pulled out in June last year. Later after the expiry of six months, Presidential rule was imposed in the state.
(AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
