Assembly Election In Jammu And Kashmir Likely To Be In 2021 Due To Delimitation Exercise: EC Sources dnaindia.com

According to Election Commission sources, assembly elections which are pending in Jammu and Kashmir after the assembly was dissolved will not be taking place any time soon. In fact, according to EC sources, they may be held in 2021 after the delimitation process ends.

According to EC sources, the process of delimitation will take anything between 10 to 15 months after a formal nod from the Ministry of Home Affairs and creation of the Delimitation Commission. On October 31, the state of Jammu and Kashmir will be formally divided into the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the union territory of Ladakh.

Out of this, Ladakh will not have legislature while J&K will be an UT with an assembly like Delhi and Puducherry. The formal process for delimitation will only begin after J&K is bifurcated. But already, EC has made a blueprint of the delimitation process. The entire exercise will be conducted in ten phases and elections will be held once it is finished.

The decision to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to bifurcate the state into two union territories was taken by the government on August 5. It was subsequently ratified by the Parliament. While Pakistan has raised hue and cry over it, globally India’s stance on the abrogation of Article 370 has got overwhelming support.