J&K's electorate could swell by 20 to 25,00,000 new voters after the ongoing special summary revision of electoral rolls, accounting for not just those who have turned 18 since the last update in 2019 but also the potential addition of people from other states living in the Union Territory and now eligible to vote, chief electoral officer Hirdesh Kumar said.
“We are expecting massive changes in the rolls given the fact that a special summary revision is taking place for the first time since January 1, 2019,” the CEO told reporters, triggering a howl of protest from mainstream regional parties that fear BJP would “import” voters to win elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the then undivided state of J&K had 78,40,000 registered voters. Excluding what is now the UT of Ladakh, the number would have been 76,70,000. An addition of 20 to 25,00,000 voters would hence constitute an increase by about 26 to 33% over a three-year period. Between 2014 and 2019, the increase in voters had been about 650,000.
“After the nullification of Article 370, many people who were not enlisted as voters in the erstwhile state of J&K are now eligible to do so. Besides, anyone from any part of the country ordinarily living here can choose to get enlisted as a voter in accordance with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” Kumar said.
He clarified that a domicile certificate wasn’t necessary to become a voter as long as the applicant was legally based in J&K for work, business or education. “Their documents will be properly scrutinised by the authorities before a decision is taken to reject or accept the claim,” he said. The cut-off for age eligibility is October 1.
National Conference vicepresident and ex-CM Omar Abdullah questioned if BJP was “so insecure about support from genuine voters of J&K” that it needed to get “temporary voters to win seats”. “None of these things will help the BJP when the people of J&K are given a chance to exercise their franchise,” he tweeted.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, another ex-CM, termed the roll revision an exercise to “disempower" the local population. “GOI's decision to defer polls in J&K preceded by egregious gerrymandering tilting the balance in BJP's favour, and now allowing non locals to vote is obviously to influence election results. Real aim is to continue ruling J&K with an iron fist,” she said.
People's Conference chief Sajad Gani Lone joined in the diatribe, calling it a “dangerous” and “disastrous” move. “I don't know what they want to achieve. This is much more than mischief. Democracy is a relic, especially in the context of Kashmir. Please remember 1987. We are yet to come out of that. Don't replay 1987," he tweeted, referring to alleged rigging in the assembly polls that year being the trigger for terror in the Valley.
Govt dismisses allegations
The J&K government, meanwhile, dismissed allegations that non-native people of the Union Territory would be among the majority of 25,00,000 new voters to be added to the revised electoral rolls. It said such reports have been doing the rounds, misrepresenting facts.
In a statement explaining the yet-to-start exercise of revising J&K’s electoral rolls, the government said the revision will cover only residents of the UT and a rise in numbers is expected as young people attaining the voting age of 18 (as on October 1, 2022) will be included on the voters list.
“Media reports that more than 25,00,000 additions will be made once the process of summary revision of the electoral rolls starts is a misrepresentation of facts by vested interests,” it said.
According to the 2011 revision, J&K has 6,600,921 voters, the government said, and that number has gone up to 7,602,397. “This increase is mainly due to new voters who have attained the age of 18. ”
