Early Times Report
Kolkata, Feb 1 The Election Commission will visit Jammu and Kashmir next week to take stock of the situation there before deciding on the Assembly elections in the state, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said Friday. The commission will hold a meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials and then visit the state to decide on holding the elections there along with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Arora said
"We had held a meeting (through video conference) with the chief secretary and the DGP of Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, when the Assembly was dissolved prematurely, we had sought specific inputs from the MHA," he told reporters here. "Next week, or eight-10 days later, we will hold another meeting with the MHA and the commission will itself visit the state to take stock of the situation and then it will be able to give a conclusive answer on this," the CEC said to a question on holding Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
The militancy-hit state was brought under President's Rule on December 20 last year, paving the way for the Union cabinet to take all policy decisions related to it. Prior to it, the state was under Governor's Rule for six months after the Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition government was reduced to minority following withdrawal of support by the BJP in June. |
