Four MPs to be nominated as associate members of delimitation commission for J&K

In the absence of Legislative Assembly, regional National Conference (NC) and BJP Lok Sabha members would be nominated as associate members of the delimitation commission empowered to fix boundaries of Assembly segments in the newly carved out Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The law provides that four persons- MLAs of J&K or four Lok Sabha members representing the newly carved out UT-would assist the Election Commission in the delimitation process.

“Of the five Lok Sabha MPs from J&K, four would be nominated as associate members of the panel,” a senior official citing legal obligations under the J&K Re-organisation Act, said.

Sub-section (3) of Section 60 of Jammu and Kashmir Re-organization Act reads: “The Election Commission shall, for the purpose of assisting it in the performance of its functions under sub-section (1), associate with itself as associate members, four persons as the Central Government may by order specify, being persons who are the members of the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir or four members of the House of the People representing the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.”

After the bifurcation of J&K into two Union Territories, J&K UT has five members in the Lok Sabha including Minister of State Jitendra Singh. Farooq Abdullah, Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi from the NC represent three Valley seats while Jugal Kishore Sharma and Jatindra Singh represent two Jammu LS seats.

In March this year, the Centre had notified the constitution of the delimitation commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai to redraw the assembly and parliamentary constituencies of J&K as per the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. According to the Act, seven seats are to be added to the present 85 in J&K. At present, the Kashmir region has 46 seats and Jammu 37, besides two nominated members.

The new arrangement is likely to tilt the balance of power towards the Jammu region with more MLAs than the Valley in the Union Territory’s legislature.