J&K assembly polls: 24 polling booths set up by ECI for Kashmiri migrants to vote

Srinagar: 24 polling places have been set up by the Election Commission of India (ECI) so that Kashmiri migrants can cast their ballots in the next J&K assembly elections.

These 24 polling places are being set up in Jammu, Udhampur, and New Delhi, according to P.K. Pole, the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Jammu and Kashmir, to make it easier for migrant Kashmiri voters to cast their ballots in the legislative assembly elections.

The CEO said in a statement that the people displaced from the Kashmir Valley and residing in Jammu and Udhampur will not have to fill Form-M as was done in the Lok Sabha elections.

“Kashmiri migrant voters residing in various relief camps in Jammu, Udhampur, and Delhi, who have opted to cast their votes in person through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the election, can do so at 24 polling stations out of which 19 are being set up in Jammu, one in Udhampur and four in Delhi,” the CEO said.

“Continuing with the historic decision taken by the ECI during the Lok Sabha elections, the earlier requirement for migrant electors in Jammu and Udhampur to fill out Form-M has been removed. Electors residing in zones and camps will be mapped to their respective polling stations in Jammu and Udhampur,” he added.

“The draft roll extracts, mapping migrant electors residing in various zones in Jammu and Udhampur to the respective special polling stations will be published soon. Any additions, deletions or corrections will be allowed for a period of seven days,” the statement said.

Following this, the final photo electoral roll extracts will be published for each polling station, based on which migrant electors will be allowed to vote at these special polling stations like any other voter, by producing the Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) or any of the 12 alternate photo identity documents notified by the ECI.

Migrants residing outside Jammu and Udhampur can now self-certify Form-M instead of getting it attested by a gazetted officer or other authorities.

“Those voters who are required to fill out Form-M, those residing outside Jammu and Udhampur wishing to exercise their franchise in person should intimate the details of the electors in their families to the designated election officials,” the CEO said in the statement.

Additionally, all migrant voters who have not opted to vote in person have the option to vote through postal ballot papers.

The ECI has announced a 3-phased assembly poll schedule. Notification for the first phase has been issued.

Voting for the first phase will take place on September 18. The second phase of voting will be held on September 25 and the third phase on October 1.

Counting will held on October 4 and the entire poll process will be over by October 6.

There are 90 assembly constituencies in J&K including 47 in the Valley and 43 in the Jammu division. Among these, there are 74 general, nine ST and seven SC constituencies.

With inputs from IANS