New Delhi: With the completion of the process of demarcation of Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, seven Assembly Seats will be increased. Of these, 6 seats will be in Jammu and 1 seat in Kashmir. So now the number of assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir will increase from 83 to 90. The three-member delimitation commission on Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Justice (R) Ranjana Desai, signed the report on Thursday. The term of the demarcation commission was coming to an end on Friday, May 6.
2 seats will be reserved for Kashmiri Pandits
At present, Jammu has 37 assembly seats while Kashmir has 46 assembly seats. After the implementation of this resolution, the number of assembly seats in Jammu (37 + 6) will be 43, while in Kashmir division (46 + 1) the number of seats will be 47. Once this demarcation is implemented, the political significance of Jammu will increase. 2 seats reserved for Kashmiri Pandits As per the report of the Demarcation Commission, 2 seats have been reserved for Kashmiri Pandits. The term Kashmiri Migrants has been used for this in the report of the Demarcation Commission.
Proposed picture of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
Total seats: 90
Kashmir Division: 47
Jammu Division: 43
SC: 07
Scheduled Tribes: 09
Seats were left vacant in PoK
Of the 9 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, 6 are in the Jammu region and 3 in the Kashmir division. 24 seats are vacant for Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). These seats were also previously vacated. It is believed that this decision will increase the representation of Kashmiri Pandits in the Legislative Assembly.
What is demarcation?
The process of determining the boundaries of a constituency is called demarcation. The main basis of demarcation is population. But before deciding on a seat, area, geographical location, and communication facilities are also considered. Due to the hilly and snowy terrain, movement in Jammu and Kashmir is difficult, so efforts are being made to keep people in such areas to facilitate their government work and also to facilitate their voting. Jammu and Kashmir was earlier demarcated in 1995. But then the political map of the state was different. At that time, Ladakh was also with Jammu and Kashmir, but with the removal of Article 370 in 2019, the Center has recognized Ladakh as a separate Union Territory.
Assembly elections could be held in October
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to be held by October. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in February that the demarcation process was going to be completed soon. Assembly elections will be held in the next six to eight months. There is no doubt about it. It is believed that holding assembly elections after the Amarnath Yatra is considered more favorable as central forces will be present in the state to provide security for the Yatra. There will be no additional campaign for security arrangements in the elections.
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