Political row over voting rights in J&K

The new regulation allowing voting rights to the ones who have been living In J&K for 1 Year has irked various Kashmiri political parties.

Whereas old Kashmiri political outfits are opposing the new rule, the BJP is supporting it saying it has made the process easy.

This is due to the revision of the electoral rolls in J&K which has initiated the process from September 15, 2022.

A circular in this regard was issued by Avny Lavasa, district magistrate, Jammu on 11 October 2022 which authorized Tehsildars for issuing the certificates in this regard. As per the circular now  the certificates by the Tehsildar will pave the way for the registration to voting by the people who are  residing in Jammu for over a year.

This way their entry into the electoral rolls will be recorded in black and white.

Opposing this the Kashmiri mainstream parties are raising a red flag over authorities’ move. They are reluctant to accept them as the voter with just  one year of living in Jammu.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomes this move by the government saying that this process will make it easier for the people to get the residential proof.

Being the district election officer for Jammu also, Ms Lavasa had noted various fresh eligible voters facing hardships in registration. And this made her pass the instructions which can be helpful for them in regards with non-availability of required documents.