Assembly Elections- 2024
Ease of voting for Migrants: 24
Special Polling Stations established in Jammu, Udhampur, New Delhi
No Form-M for migrants residing at
Jammu and Udhampur
Self-attestation of Form-M instead of gazetted officer attestation
for migrants residing outside Jammu and Udhampur
JAMMU, AUGUST 23:
In a major decision to facilitate voting by Kashmiri migrants in forthcoming
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Election 2024, the Election Commission of India
(ECI) has set up 24 special polling stations in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi.
Like the recent Lok
Sabha Election, the ECI has also decided to do away with the cumbersome
procedure of filling Form-M for the displaced people from Kashmir valley who
are residing in Jammu and Udhampur in Assembly Election even as for the
migrants residing outside Jammu and Udhampur who will continue to submit Form-M
have been authorized to self-attest the certificate appended with Form-M, thus
removing the hassle of getting this certificate attested by the Gazetted
Officer.
This was informed
by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K UT in a statement issued
on Friday.
“Kashmiri migrant
voters, who are residing at various relief camps in Jammu, Udhampur, and Delhi
and who have opted to cast their votes in person through Electronic Voting
Machines in the J&K Assembly Election 2024 can do so at 24 polling
stations, including 19 in Jammu, 1 in Udhampur and 4 in Delhi,” the statement
said.
In Jammu, 19
polling stations have been set up at Government College for Women, Gandhi
Nagar, Jammu; Indian Institute of Management, Jammu Canal Road, Jammu; North
Zonal Accountancy Training Institute, Muthi, Jammu; Directorate of Economics
& Statistics, Janipur, Jammu; Migrant School Purkhoo, Jammu; Agriculture
and Animal Husbandry Complex, Gole Puli Talab Tillo, Jammu; Govt Mixed Higher
Secondary School, Muthi (Lower Roop Nagar), Jammu; Migrant School, Nagrota,
Jammu; Government Higher Secondary School, (Migrants) Jagti, Jammu; Anuradha
Higher Secondary School Barnai, Jammu; Agriculture University Complex,
Udhaiywala, Jammu; J&K Board of School Education, Rehari, Jammu; Govt
Middle School (Migrants), Jagti, Jammu; Kendriya Vidyalaya Ban Talab, Jammu;
Sant Mela Singh College of Education, Near Digiana Ashram, Jammu; Sarvodya
Public School, By Pass Santra Morh, Jammu; Govt Girls Higher Secondary School,
Miran Sahib, Jammu; Birla Open Minds International School, Channi Himmat Jammu;
and NSM College Anand Nagar, Bohri, Jammu.
Similarly, one such
polling station has been set up at Government ITI, Udhampur.
To facilitate the
Kashmiri Migrants residing in New Delhi to cast their votes in person on the
polling days during Assembly Election on the seats across Jammu and Kashmir,
four special polling booths have been established at J&K House, 5,
Prithviraj Road, New Delhi; Office of the Deputy Director, Horticulture,
Planning and Marketing, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi; Arwachin International School, F
Block, Dilshad Garden, Delhi; and Government Girls Higher Secondary School,
Paprawat, Delhi.
Continuing with the
historic decision taken by the ECI in Lok Sabha Election 2024, the earlier
practice of filling of Form-M for migrant electors of Jammu and Udhampur has
been done away with. The electors staying in zones and camps will be mapped to
their respective polling stations by the respective AERO Migrants at Jammu and
Udhampur.
The draft roll
extracts mapping Migrants Electors residing in various zones in Jammu and
Udhampur to the respective Special Polling Stations shall be published soon by
the concerned AEROs and any addition, deletion and corrections shall be allowed
for a period of 7 days.
Consequent to this,
the final photo electoral roll extracts shall be published for each polling
station, based on which the Migrants Electors shall be allowed to vote at these
Special Polling Stations like any other voter by producing the EPIC or any of
the 12 alternate photo identity documents notified by the Commission in this
regard.
Similarly, for
migrants residing outside Jammu and Udhampur, they can now self-certify Form-M,
instead of getting it attested by a Gazetted officer or other authorities.
“Those voters who
are required to fill Form-M i.e. those residing outside Jammu and Udhampur, who
wish to exercise their franchise in person should intimate details of the
electors in their families to the Assistant Commissioner, Relief (Migrant),
Jammu; Assistant Commissioner, Panchayat, Udhampur; Deputy Director,
Horticulture, Planning and Marketing, Delhi; and Deputy Secretary, office of
Resident Commissioner, New Delhi in prescribed Form-M.
Besides, all
migrant voters other than those who opted to vote in person have the option to
vote through postal ballot papers. They may apply for the postal ballot paper
in the prescribed Form 12C appended to the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 available
in the offices of the Assistant returning Officers.
In addition, the
Migrant electors residing at various places other than Jammu, Udhampur and
Delhi can also download Form-M and Form 12C from the ECI website and after
filling such Forms can be got verified from the Electoral Registration Officer
of the areas where he/she is residing.
The voting in
Assembly Election 2024 will be held in all 90 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) of
Jammu and Kashmir in three phases including 47 ACs in Kashmir region.
In the first phase,
16 ACs in Kashmir including 32-Pampore, 33-Tral, 34-Pulwama, 35-Rajpora, 36-
Zainapora, 37-Shopian, 38- D.H.Pora, 39-Kulgam, 40-Devsar, 41-Dooru,
42-Kokernag(ST), 43-Anantnag West, 44-Anantnag, 45-Srigufwara-Bijbehara,
46-Shangus-Anantnag East, and 47-Pahalgam will witnessing polling on September
18.
A total of 15 ACs
in Kashmir including 17-Kangan(ST), 18-Ganderbal, 19-Hazratbal, 20-Khanyar,
21-Habbakadal, 22-Lal Chowk, 23-Channapora, 24-Zadibal, 25-Eidgah, 26-Central
Shalteng, 27-Budgam, 28-Beerwah, 29-Khansahib, 30-Chrar-I-Sharief, and
31-Chadoora will go to polling on September 25.
In the third phase,
16 ACs of the Valley including 1-Karnah, 2-Trehgam, 3-Kupwara, 4-Lolab,
5-Handwara, 6-Langate, 7-Sopore, 8-Rafiabad, 9-Uri, 10-Baramulla, 11-Gulmarg,
12-Wagoora-Kreeri, 13-Pattan, 14-Sonawari, 15-Bandipora, and 16-Gurez(ST) will
go to polling on October 01.