Jammu- With the Election Commission announcing the schedule for the first-ever assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir after it was reorganized into a Union Territory, West Pakistani refugees — who will vote for the first time in these elections — are gearing up to participate in this democratic process.
A meeting of community members is scheduled for next week to strategize for the polls, marking a historic moment for the refugees who have long awaited the right to vote.
The elections will take place in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1, with the votes being counted on October 4.
Assembly elections are being held in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to the region, in August 2019.
This is also the first time that West Pakistani refugees, alongside members of the Valmiki Samaj, will have the opportunity to vote in assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Laba Ram Gandhi, president of the Pakistan Refugees’ Action Committee, expressed his enthusiasm for the elections.
“This is the first time we will be participating in the assembly elections after more than seven decades of our settlement here,” he said.
Gandhi emphasized the importance of internal discussions among community members to ensure effective representation in the new assembly.
The meeting, expected to take place either on August 20 or August 22, will gather around 200 delegates from across the Jammu region.
The topics of discussion will include potential candidates for support and the possibility of fielding their own candidates.
Historically, the community — primarily consisting of Hindus and Sikhs who migrated from Pakistan in 1947 — had only been eligible to vote in Lok Sabha elections until the recent changes in their status.
In 2020, they participated in the District Development Council elections for the first time.
Garu Bhatti, president of the Valmiki Samaj Sabha, shared his sentiment about the election announcement, calling it a “joyous moment.”
He highlighted the long-standing plight of the Valmiki community, which was brought to Jammu and Kashmir in 1957 for sanitation work but had been denied voting rights for decades.
“Now we will finally have a chance to elect representatives who can address our daily issues,” Bhatti said and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for granting their long-awaited rights.
Meanwhile, All J&K Gorkha Sabha president Karuna Gorkha expressed support for the BJP, citing its efforts to improve their living conditions and granting citizenship rights.
The Gorkha community, originally settled from Nepal to assist the Dogra army, now enjoys voting rights in both general and assembly elections — a status denied to them prior to the abrogation of Article 370.
As the West Pakistani refugees and other marginalized communities prepare for this landmark election, their collective voices are set to shape the political landscape of the Jammu region.
‘Ease Of Voting For Kashmiri Migrants To Continue In Assembly Polls’
The ease of voting for Kashmiri migrants introduced during the recent Lok Sabha polls will be in place for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls as well, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said on Friday.
He also lauded the democratic spirit of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking about the special arrangements made for the Kashmiri migrants during the Lok Sabha polls, Kumar said those relaxations will continue.
“You may also remember that for Kashmiri migrants, special arrangements were made. We simplified the process, we relaxed Form M and there were some cumbersome processes that required authorization, which were converted to self-attestation,” the CEC said at a press conference to announce the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election.
“We got positive results and the migrants also participated,” he added.
Kumar highlighted that the Union Territory witnessed more than 58 per cent voting during the Lok Sabha polls and this record participation of voters was a testament to Jammu and Kashmir’s democratic spirit.
“The long queues at the polling booths of Jammu and Kashmir were an excellent example of the power of democracy. It was their desire to write a new destiny,” he said.
“Everybody wanted to participate, prove a point that we are here in this queue not only to vote but to demonstrate the very strong desire that democracy flourishes in this area,” the CEC added.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir chose the ballot instead of bullets and boycotts,” he said.
Kumar pointed out that there was no incident of re-polling and an amount of nearly Rs 100 crore was seized.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Election Commission (EC) had announced that Kashmiri migrants from Jammu and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir would no longer be required to fill up “Form M” to vote as the poll panel had ordered changes to the existing voting scheme for the displaced people.
Instead, they shall be mapped with special polling stations falling in the zones where they are registered or residing, the commission had said.
Earlier, filling up the form was mandatory for the voters displaced from the valley ahead of every parliamentary and Assembly election.
The EC had also eased the process of filling up “Form M” for the Kashmiri migrants staying in Delhi and other places in the country by allowing self-attestation instead of the certification by gazetted officers required earlier.
The Assembly election will be held in Jammu & Kashmir after nearly a decade. It will be held in three phases starting September 18, setting the stage for the people of the Union Territory to elect a government after the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019.
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