Delimitation Panel proposes 6 additional seats for Jammu, 1 for Kashmir

The five-member Delimitation Commission on Jammu and Kashmir met on Monday and proposed six additional seats for the Jammu region and one for the Kashmir Valley.The meeting was attended by two BJP MPs — Jugal Kishore and Dr Jitendra Singh — and three MPs from the National Conference — Farooq Abdullah, Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi and Mohammad Akbar Lone. The meeting was held at Ashok Hotel in Delhi.With the Delimitation Commission’s recommendation, the total seats in Jammu will increase to 43 and in the Kashmir Valley to 47.Also Read | Jammu & Kashmir: The delimitation thawOf the total seats, nine have been proposed for the Scheduled Tribes and seven for the Scheduled Castes. The associate members have requested to submit their suggestions by December 31.The commission is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and also comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra as an ex-officio member and the Jammu and Kashmir chief electoral officer.The commission has time till March 6 to redraw the boundaries and create new constituencies.Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir PDP had alleged that they had no faith in the delimitation commission which was “working on the BJP’s agenda”.”As far as the delimitation commission is concerned, it is the BJP’s commission. Their attempt is to pitch the majority against the minority and further disempower the people. They want to increase the (assembly) seats in such a way to benefit the BJP,” PTI quoted PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti saying.