Centre likely to reserve 2 seats for Kashmiri Pandits, 4 for displaced PoJK residents

The Delimitation Commission’s recommendation to reserve two seats for Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) and nomination of representatives for people displaced from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and settled in J&K is likely to be accepted when the panel’s report is tabled in Parliament.

Sources told DH that the number of seats to be given to people displaced from PoJK is likely to be finalised shortly as the Commission hasn’t mentioned specifically the number which can be given to them for nominations in the Legislative Assembly.

However, in the case of the Kashmiri Pandits, the Commission has recommended that two migrants, including one woman, can be nominated to the Assembly with voting rights. “The Central government is considering giving three to four nomination seats to persons displaced from PoJK,” they said.

The J&K Constitution enacted in 1956, which was abrogated in August 2019, had earmarked 24 seats in the Assembly for people of PoJK that were left vacant and not contested during state elections. However, while abolishing J&K’s Constitution, the Government of India has retained provisions related to the PoJK, reserving 24 seats in the Assembly of Union Territory of J&K.

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has a total of 114 seats but elections will be held for only 90 constituencies -- 47 in Kashmir division and 43 in Jammu region -- as 24 seats are reserved for PoJK refugees.

There is already provision for nomination of two women to the Legislative Assembly which was the case in the previous House also when J&K was a state.

If the Centre accepts the Commission’s recommendations related to the KPs and displaced people from PoJK, the strength of the House could reach 98.

However, political observers anticipate problems on several counts going ahead. The reservation for migrant KPs, for example, draws a distinction between migrant and non-migrant members of the Pandit community. This could lead to demands for representation from members of other minority communities like Sikhs, who left the Valley in the wake of militancy.

The Commission, headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desaihad, had submitted its report on May 5 while the Law Ministry published it in the official gazette two days before. The report now will be tabled in Parliament after which the Central government will decide the issue for nomination of migrant KPs and PoJK displaced persons.