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| It's delimitation next in Jammu and Kashmir: Ram Madhav | | | Agencies
New Delhi, Aug 7: As parliament approved the historic bill to split Jammu and Kashmir in two Union Territories, the ruling BJP Tuesday announced its next move: redrawing the region's electoral constituencies.
In an exclusive interview to national channel , BJP general secretary Ram Madhav suggested the "overdue" delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir be carried out in the "right earnest".
"We definitely want the delimitation exercise to be concluded. It's part of the bill (passed by parliament)," Madhav told .
At present, Jammu and Kashmir has 87 assembly and six Lok Sabha constituencies. Of them the valley has 46 assembly and three parliamentary boroughs.
Ladakh, home to one Lok Sabha and four assembly constituencies, will have no legislature as a Union Territory. So any delimitation exercise is expected to focus largely on the new UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
"We are keen that the delimitation exercise would be taken up in the right earnest," said the BJP general secretary, the man who led his party's policy on Jammu and Kashmir.
His remarks came a day after the Modi government moved to scrap the region's special status via a presidential decree.
Madhav, however, spelled out no timeline for fresh elections in the new UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
"When to hold the elections is the decision that the Election Commission has to take," he said. "Ideally, I think they also have to wait until the delimitation exercise is over."
The BJP leader dismissed speculations about possible unrest in the valley following abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, calling them doomsayers' propaganda.
"Doomsday predictors are leaders for whom Article 370 has been a bread-and -butter issue. They'll make all sorts of predictions. But in the last 24 hours, celebrations have been going on in Jammu and utmost happiness in Ladakh," he insisted. "There's been no negative fallout in the valley so far. It's been very silent."
Madhav said his party would reach out to ordinary Kashmiris in order to explain the "benefits" from the new measures. "I am sure if the right message goes across, people will realise that all that the government of India has done or is doing now is actually going to benefit the ordinary people of the valley in a big way. We will certainly make efforts to explain this to the people of the valley." The BJP leader, however, maintained that security agencies will remain on alert to tackle any untoward situation. |
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