Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called for corrective measures in the Election Commission of India, saying public confidence in the electoral process must be protected.
Abdullah’s remarks came after reports of disagreements within the poll panel over several decisions taken during the past 10 months. The Election Commission has maintained that differences and observations are a normal part of institutional decision making and that decisions taken during the period were ultimately approved by the full commission.
Drawing a comparison with the current controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir had faced concerns over delimitation before the SIR became a national issue.
He alleged that the delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir was opaque and flawed and claimed it was structured to benefit a political party and its associates. These are Abdullah’s political allegations and have not been established as factual findings.
The delimitation exercise followed the 2019 reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, under which the former state was divided into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Delimitation Commission subsequently created 90 territorial Assembly constituencies for Jammu and Kashmir. The Election Commission’s official documents record the final delimitation and constituency boundaries.
The exercise has previously drawn political criticism, including allegations that the redrawing of constituencies could influence political representation. The BJP has rejected such allegations.
Abdullah also referred to the reported objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over various decisions linked to electoral processes. The reports have triggered wider political debate about the functioning of the poll panel.
The Election Commission has responded that individual observations form part of internal deliberations and said decisions and initiatives undertaken over the past year were unanimous decisions of the full commission.
Abdullah said maintaining public trust in elections was essential and urged authorities to take corrective measures to preserve confidence in the democratic process.
