People from any part of India eligible to vote in Kashmir polls: Official

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) – A top electoral body official in Indian-occupied Kashmir has said people from any part of India “living ordinarily” in the region are eligible to vote in the elections for the local assembly likely to be held next year.

The decision, which makes tens of thousands of laborers, workers, employees, students, and businessmen from other states of the country eligible to vote, has sparked criticism from pro-India politicians.

Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar told journalists in the region’s capital Srinagar on Wednesday that after the abrogation of the special political status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, many people who were not enlisted as voters are now eligible to vote.

“Anyone who is living ordinarily can also avail the opportunity to get enlisted as a voter in J&K by the provisions of representation of the Peoples Act,” Kumar said.

After scrapping the autonomy, the Indian government made the acquisition of a domicile certificate a necessity for any person to become eligible for residency or government employment in the region where, before Aug. 5, 2019, only local residents could buy properties or apply for government jobs.

However, Kumar said, there is no need for a person to have a domicile certificate to vote.

“Any employee, student, laborer, or outsider living ordinarily in J&K can enlist his or her name in the voting list. The documents will be scrutinized by the government officials concerned, who will decide whether or not to accept the claim,” he said.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and paramilitary soldiers stationed in the region can also be enlisted as voters.

The voter list is currently being revised, and Kumar expects that 2.5 million new voters, will be added this time.

Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state and India’s former minister of state for foreign affairs, criticized India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the move.

“Is the BJP so insecure about support from genuine voters of J&K that it needs to import 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,” Omar tweeted.

Political disempowerment

Fears of demographic flooding and political disempowerment in this Muslim-majority region have heightened since the region’s loss of autonomous status.

Mehbooba Mufti, another former chief minister, tweeted that the decision to postpone elections in the region was “preceded by egregious gerrymandering tilting the balance in BJP’s favor and now allowing non-locals to vote is obviously to influence election results.”

“The real aim is to continue ruling Jammu and Kashmir with an iron fist to disempower locals,” she added.

Ashok Kaul, a local BJP leader, however, said it is a prevalent practice in India for any person to be eligible to vote in a place – not his home region – where he has lived for a certain period.

“A Kashmiri working in any other part of India is similarly eligible for voting there,” Kaul told Anadolu Agency.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in part but claimed by both in full. A small sliver of the region is also controlled by China.

For decades, Kashmiris have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with neighboring Pakistan.