Govt. initiates move to set up Delimitation Commission to redraw boundaries of assembly constituencies of Union Territory of J&K

The Government has initiated the process of drawing out the new assembly constituencies in the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) – taking the first step towards holding assembly elections in the newly constituted Union Territory.

The Government is set to constitute the Delimitation Commission to redraw the assembly constituencies in J&K, which was turned into a Union Territory on October 31 last year.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora nominated Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra to represent the poll-panel in the proposed delimitation commission for J&K, sources in New Delhi said on Monday.

Sources said that the Ministry of Law and Justice had sent a request to the Election Commission, seeking nomination of a representative in the panel to be set up to redraw the boundaries of the new Union Territory.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government in New Delhi had on August 5 moved to strip the state of J&K of its special status and reorganize the state into two Union Territories.

The state ceased to exist on October 31 last year when the two Union Territories – J&K and Ladakh – came into existence.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 provides for constitution of Legislative Assembly for the Union Territory of J&K, but not for Ladakh. The Act provides for raising the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of Union territory of J&K from 107 to 114. The 24 seats of the new assembly will be reserved for India's territory in J&K currently under illegal occupation of Pakistan.

The new Union Territory of J&K will have its first assembly elections after the Delimitation Commission would complete its task of redrawing the boundaries of constituencies.