Will J&K polls be delinked from rest? Review soon

NEW DELHI: Thursday's terror attack in J&K has raised fresh concerns on clubbing assembly polls in the state with general elections due to be announced soon. Sources indicated the violent incident may lead state authorities, the Union home ministry and the Election Commission to go in for fresh, pre-poll security assessment and review whether it is advisable to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the current scenario.


J&K elections involve large-scale deployment of central forces, and plans may need to be reworked to rule out the possibility of Pulwama-type attacks, a senior government functionary told TOI. Sources did not rule out the possibility of state assembly polls being delinked from the Lok Sabha polls, as simultaneous elections would run the risk of more violence and low turnouts.

Sources said soon after home minister Rajnath Singh made a statement in Parliament in the winter session that the EC would decide on holding simultaneous polls and the home ministry would offer the EC resources for the same, the EC had written to home secretary Rajiv Gauba seeking the ministry's views on whether the security situation in the state was conducive for simultaneous polls.

Later, during a video conference between the EC, state chief secretary and DGP, the latter two are said to have expressed reservations against simultaneous polls, citing security and logistical hurdles.