On Monday, a panel redrawing poll constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir recommended adding six assembly seats in Jammu and one in Kashmir, prompting sharp responses from the mainstream parties in the valley that condemned the move and distanced themselves from the process. A first in the Union Territory, the three-member delimitation commission proposed reserving nine seats for scheduled tribes and seven seats for scheduled castes. The draft was presented to five associate members from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Conference, and asked for their responses by the end of this month.
If the proposed draft is approved, the total number of poll constituencies will increase from 83 to 90, with 43 in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir. Jammu has 37 members in the current state House, while Kashmir has 46. The proposal prompted outrage in the Valley, with mainstream parties accusing the panel of disenfranchising Kashmir.
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