Srinagar11 hours ago
The Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir has proposed to increase the assembly seats by 6 in Jammu and 1 in the Kashmir Valley. This will make 43 seats in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir. In this, 9 seats will be reserved for ST and 7 for SC. At the same time, 24 seats will be reserved for PoK.
In this way, it is proposed to increase the existing 83 seats of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to 90. The commission has sought suggestions on this by 31 December 2021. Let us inform that for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, the Scheduled Castes (SC) will be given electoral reservation.
The suggestion of the Delimitation Commission has been strongly criticized by PDP President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. He tweeted that the census is being ignored. There is an attempt to pit people against each other by proposing 6 seats for one area and only one seat for Kashmir. On the other hand, People’s Conference President Sajjad Gani Lone tweeted that the recommendations of the commission are completely invalid and they are prejudiced.
Commission meeting at Delhi’s Ashoka Hotel
The meeting of the Delimitation Commission was held at Ashoka Hotel in Delhi on Monday. In this, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, BJP’s central government minister Jitendra Singh and many others attended. His party MP Hasnain Masoodi along with Farooq also attended the meeting. All participated in the meeting along with Commission Chairperson Ranjana Prakash Desai, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and Jammu and Kashmir Election Commissioner KK Sharma.
Never delimited after 1995
Jammu and Kashmir had 100 seats in 1951. Of these, 25 seats were in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The first Full Flanged Delimitation Commission was formed in 1981, which sent its recommendation 14 years later in 1995. This was based on the 1981 census. After that there was no delimitation.
In 2020, the Delimitation Commission was directed to complete the delimitation process on the basis of the 2011 census. After this delimitation, 7 more seats will increase in Jammu and Kashmir. The Supreme Court had said that delimitation is not a mathematical process, which can be done sitting at the table. Through this the political expectations and geographical conditions of the society should be shown.
Present Structure of the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir
Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act (JKRA), the new assembly will have 90 seats instead of 83. Experts believe that population is not the only parameter for increasing the seats. For this, the terrain, population, nature and accessibility of the area will be made the basis.
Before the abrogation of Article 370, there were a total of 87 seats in the state. Of these 37 seats were in Jammu, 46 in Kashmir and 4 in Ladakh. In such a situation, if 7 seats go to the account of Jammu, then in the 90-member assembly, there can be 44 seats in Jammu and 46 seats in Kashmir.
What is special about the delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir?
Jammu and Kashmir had a special status till 5 August 2019. There the powers of the center were limited. Earlier delimitation took place in Jammu and Kashmir in 1963, 1973 and 1995. Census was not conducted in the state in 1991. Because of this, the seats for the 1996 elections were decided on the basis of the 1981 census. Delimitation is happening in Jammu and Kashmir, whereas it can happen in the whole country only after 2031.
Under the delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir, the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act (JKRA) will also have to be taken care of. It was passed by Parliament in August 2019. It has also been said to increase seats for Scheduled Tribes. The JKRA clearly states that the delimitation in the Union Territory will be on the basis of the 2011 Census.
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