Amid speculations of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Delimitation Commission is expected to hold a virtual meet in the next few days with all Deputy Commissioners to discuss various inputs on geographical features of constituencies and the suggestions made by them. Delimitation involves redrawing the boundaries of Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in a State or Union Territory.
Sources said that the Delimitation Commission is likely to visit J&K soon to begin the delimitation exercise which was on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The commission had recently sought data from all Deputy Commissioners on the area of existing constituencies, including geography and facilities available, and had asked them for their suggestions to make them more “geographically compact.”
Having received the data and suggestions, the commission has decided to hold a virtual meeting with the DCs to take forward the matter. “As far as possible, the constituency should be fully geographically compact,” sources said.
After the delimitation exercise, the number of Assembly seats in J&K will go up from 83 to 90. Twenty-four seats of the Assembly continue to remain vacant as they fall under Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK).