Srinagar:

Political parties in Srinagar on Tuesday urged the Election Commission to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls, as the panel began two days of consultations with stakeholders to review preparations for the upcoming general elections.

The BJP has also expressed its willingness to hold simultaneous polls in the Lok Sabha and the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and other officials from the poll panel arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir and met with representatives from the National Conference (NC), People’s Democratic Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, CPI ( M), officials said here that Congress and Aam Aadmi Party.

National Conference leader Nasir Aslam Wani, who led the party’s delegation, said they emphasized to the Election Commission the need to hold assembly elections as well as Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We told the committee that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been deprived of their democratic rights for a decade. Therefore, the assembly elections were held along with the Lok Sabha polls. The committee gave us a patient hearing,” Wani said.

He said holding two separate elections within a year would disrupt the economy of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Tourism is very active here and people are expecting a huge influx of tourists. So if two elections are held (separately) within a year, then economic activity will be disrupted. Also, the prime minister’s dream is one country, one election. So why How about not starting with Jammu and Kashmir?” the National Conference leader told reporters.

Mr Varney said the party delegation also told the electoral commission that people here were concerned that the elections would not be fair. He said the Election Commission should ensure a level playing field in elections.

“The committee listened patiently to our views but the decision is theirs,” he added.

People’s Democratic Party leader Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura said the party is also seeking to hold parliamentary and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously. “It is now up to the electoral commission to decide the matter,” he told reporters after the meeting.

BJP leader RS ​​Pathania is ready for simultaneous polls. He claimed that the National Committee, People’s Democratic Party and Congress were all “liars who are spreading smokescreens in the name of half-truths to fool the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.

The BJP leaders have demanded that polling stations be set up outside the union territory where members of the Kashmiri Pandit community live, to facilitate their voting.

Officials said the poll panel will conduct a detailed review of election preparations along with district election officials and police chiefs after meeting political parties.

In the evening, the Election Commission officials will interact with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer PK Pole and the nodal officer of the state police. A similar interaction will be held by Election Commission officials in Jammu on Wednesday.

There is growing demand from Jammu and Kashmir’s political circles that the Election Commission hold assembly polls either simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls or immediately after the general elections.

Former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad made the demand in the past two weeks.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulu on Saturday held a meeting with the Civil Administration and Police Administration to apprise them of the steps to be taken for smooth conduct of Lok Sabha polls in the Union Territory.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)