EC to add additional 25 lakh voters in J&K: Understanding its implications.

By: Deepak Maggu

After the special summary revision of electoral lists, which is being held for the first time since Article 370 was repealed, Jammu and Kashmir is likely to gain an additional 25 lakh voters, including outsiders.

After the special summary revision of electoral lists, which is being held for the first time since Article 370 was repealed, Jammu and Kashmir is likely to gain an additional 25 lakh voters, including outsiders. Accoring to Hirdesh Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, J-K and Ladakh, "After the abrogation of Article 370, many people who weren’t voters in the Assembly can now be named on the voter’s list to cast their vote and no person needs to be a permanent resident of the state/UT. The Chief Electoral Officer reiterated that any person attaining the age of 18 years on or before October 1, 2022, who is otherwise qualified to be enrolled as an elector in the Electoral Roll, can apply for his registration during the special summary revision. "

However, due to Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, outsiders, i.e., people from other states of India, could not vote in the assembly and panchayat elections. But due to the abrogation of Article 370 on 5th August 2019, the Representation of the People Act is now directly applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. Because of this, now a person from any state of India whose name is not on any other electoral list can now get registered on the electoral list of Jammu and Kashmir.

This decision can have far-reaching consequences because if we look at the voter numbers, till 2019 there were a total of 78.4 lakh voters, including the voters of Ladakh. After segregating the voters of Ladakh, there were 76.4 lakh voters from Jammu and Kashmir till the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. After this decision, it is believed that there may be an increase of 20 to 25 lakh voters, which is an increase of around 30 to 33%. The increase of voters by such a large number can change the politics of entire Jammu and Kashmir.

The main rivalry in the last assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir was between the BJP and the PDP. In the 2014 assembly elections, there was a clear division of Hindu and Muslim votes. The BJP had a majority in Hindu-majority Jammu and the PDP in Muslim-majority Kashmir. But this time, the situation may change. On one hand, after delimitation, it has increased from 87 to 90 seats, but in the Jammu region it has increased from 37 to 43, so the changed situation is likely to be in favour of BJP.

Now it remains to be seen whether delimitation, SC/ST reserve seats, and now external voters will this equation help BJP to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir.