Delimitation Commission proposes 6 new seats for Jammu, 1 for Kashmir

SRINAGAR — The Delimitation Commission, constituted to redraw Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, has proposed six additional seats for the Jammu region and one for Kashmir valley, sources said on Monday.

According to reports, nine seats have been proposed for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and seven for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in Jammu and Kashmir. It should be noted that this is the first time seats under the ST category have been proposed in J&K.

The Commission’s meeting was held in the national capital and was attended by five associate members – five Lok Sabha members from Jammu and Kashmir. They have been asked to respond to the proposal by the end of this month.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah along with party leaders Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi and BJP’s Jugal Kishore Sharma took part in the meeting.

The Delimitation Commission is headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai. Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra is an ex-officio member of the panel.

Earlier in Lok Sabha, the Minister of State (MoS) for Home Nityanand Rai informed that the delimitation of constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir will be completed as soon as possible, adding that the Commission held extensive consultation with various stakeholders in the Union Territory.

He said that the Commission has held extensive consultation with various stakeholders like State Election Commissioner of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Secretary, Registrar General of India, Surveyor General of India, District Election Officers of all 20 districts.