J-K Chief Electoral Officer calls all party meeting for summary revision

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer called for an all-party meeting which is scheduled to take place on Monday at around 4 pm for the summary revision of electoral rolls.

All major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir are invited to participate in the meeting.

Speaking about the meeting, BJP leader and former deputy CM Kavinder Gupta on Sunday said, "Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Hirdesh Kumar has called an all-party meeting in Jammu and Kashmir. It is expected that the democratic process which is starting after delimitation can be discussed. It is also expected to get clarity on the addition of 25 lakh voters in Jammu and Kashmir. After 2019 no summary revision was done. The upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are also expected to be disused in the meeting."

It is pertinent to mention that this is the first special summary revision of electoral rolls after the abrogation of Article 370.

Notably, the meeting has been called to review the claim of parties over the addition of new 25 lakh voters in the Union Territory.

However, Jammu and Kashmir administration had earlier clarified that the addition of 25 lakh voters by outsiders is a "misrepresentation of facts".

"This revision of electoral rolls will cover existing residents of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the increase in numbers will be of the voters who have attained the age of 18 years as of October 1 or earlier," the J-K administration stated.

Earlier, the Election Commission announced that the people who were not voters in the Assembly after the abrogation of Article 370 from the region can now be named on the voter's list.

According to an official, the person needs not to be a "permanent resident" of the Union Territory for the same.

Hirdesh Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, J-K and Ladakh, said, "After the abrogation of Article 370, many people who weren't voters in the Assembly can now be named on the voter's list to cast their vote... and no person needs to be a permanent resident of the state/UT."

According to the schedule, Integrated Draft Electoral Roll would be published by all Electoral Registration Officers on September 15, 2022. The period between September 15 and October 25 has been earmarked for filing claims and objections and all disposals in this regard would be completed by November 10. Checking of health parameters and obtaining the Commission's permission for final publication, updating the database and printing of supplements are to be done by November 19, 2022. The Final Electoral Roll would be published on November 25.

The Chief Electoral Officer reiterated that any person attaining the age of 18 years on or before October 1, 2022, and is otherwise qualified to be enrolled as an elector in the Electoral Roll, can apply for his registration during this special summary revision.

The final electoral roll after due disposal of all claims and objections filed within the stipulated time period would be published on November 25, 2022.