J&K Bill proposes 7 more seats during delimitation

The bill to reorganise the state of Jammu and Kashmir passed by Rajya Sabha proposes to increase the number of Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir by seven after a delimitation process in the future, which has been seen by a section as BJP's plans to have a political upper hand there.

With modifications to Article 370, which had granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, it also makes 106 central Acts, including RTI Act, Right to Education Act and Aadhaar Act, applicable to both the newly carved out union territories of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladhak.

The Ranveer Penal Code, which has been applicable in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, has also been replaced by the Indian Penal Code.

The Bill has earmarked a total of 107 seats for the whole of Jammu and Kashmir, excluding Ladhak but including areas in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK). The present State Assembly has 87 seats with a six-year tenure while the new Assembly will have a tenure of five years only.

Article 370 scrapped: Live Updates

Govt bites the bullet, scraps J&K special status

Of the 107 seats, the Bill said 24 seats falling in PoK will remain vacant and should not be taken into account for reckoning the total membership of the Assembly. This would make the effective strength of the House at 83, including six seats under the reserved category.

The Bill also provides for an increase in seats from 107 to 114 through a delimitation exercise and all the seven new ones will be created in the areas which are not occupied by Pakistan. However, the bill also says that it “shall not be necessary” to readjust the division of constituencies until the figures for the first census taken after 2026 have been published.

There has been a demand to increase in number of seats in Jammu claiming that they are under-represented.

The delimitation exercise has been viewed by a section as part of BJP's plans to enable non-Muslims from Jammu region to become Chief Minister in Jammu and Kashmir, which has only seen Muslim Chief Ministers and help it to spread its wings in the state. Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad was the only Chief Minister from Jammu region.

As in the state Assembly, there is a provision for nominating two women to the new Assembly if the Lt Governor feels that they are not adequately represented.

The new union territory of Ladakh, which has Kargil and Leh districts under its belt, does not have an Assembly. The existing six Lok Sabha seats will be divided 5-1 to Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh respectively.

The new union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is equated with Puducherry and not Delhi. In Puducherry, the Assembly can have elected or party nominated and partly elected members in Assembly while the Delhi Assembly can have only elected members.

The Assembly can adopt any one or more of the languages used in Jammu and Kashmir or Hindi as the official language to be used for official purposes. In Assembly, any one or more of the languages used in Jammu and Kashmir or Hindi or English can be used for a business transaction.