| News Details |
| Non availability of sufficient security forces responsible for deferring of JK assembly elections | |
Jammu, March 22, (Scoop News)-Over 70,000 security personnel were sought by the state administration to hold simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in restive Jammu and Kashmir, informed sources said.
They said that in view of similar demand for security forces emanating from other parts of the country for holding of peaceful elections, the state administration had sought over 70,000 troops, however, due to non availability of sufficient security personnel has led to the deferment of the Assembly elections, instead of holding them together with the Lok Sabha.
Interestingly, 77 candidates had contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 from six parliamentary constituencies in the state.
The state administration had apprised the visiting team of Election of India (ECi) about its requirements including making available sufficient number of the security forces for holding of transparent and peaceful elections in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the February 14 terror attack on a security force convoy near Lethpora in Pulwama district in which 40 security men lost their lives, the sources added.
Incidentally, the visit was followed by the official tour of three observers, appointed by ECi, who separately held threadbare discussions with the political parties and the officials in the state administration.
Additional deployment of security personnel was imperative for conducting of the state Assembly election to ensure the safety of a large number of the candidates likely to get involved in the electoral exercise, sanitization of the routes the candidates undertake for campaigning and holding of public rallies in 87 assembly segments, the sources said adding that over 11,316 polling stations are also likely to be set up for the purpose this time.
They recalled that during 2014 Assembly election, 831 candidates had joined the fray to elect 87 lawmakers for the lower house of the state legislature for which nearly 430 companies of paramilitary security personnel were deployed, of which 47 were redeployed from the existing counter insurgency security grid. Over 10,000 polling stations were established then across the state for the electorate to cast their votes. ... |
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