Postal ballot for migrant Kashmiri Pandits: EC

Staying hundreds of miles away from their homes for almost three decades, thousands of Kashmiri Pandit migrants will be exercising their franchise at special polling stations outside Kashmir in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The Election Commission (EC) has also accorded the facility of postal ballot to them in their respective constituencies.

Assistant Returning Officer (Migrant) Anirudh Rai informed that migrant voters who wish to cast their vote in person or through postal ballot have to fill form-M/form-12C.

Earlier, postal ballot facility was not available for Kashmiri migrants and they had to go to special polling centres in Delhi and Jammu to cast their vote.

The three parliamentary constituencies— Srinagar, Anantnag and Baramulla — have nearly a lakh Pandit voters spread across different districts.

The Pandit voters, registered with the J&K Chief Electoral Officer, for over two decades, have been demanding to streamline of the electoral process as they cast votes for their constituencies in the Valley outside, where special polling booths are set up by the EC.

Jammu and Kashmir will vote for the Lok Sabha Elections in five phases — on April 11, 18, 23, 29 and May 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.