The Centre on Tuesday avoided replying whether it was planning to conduct a delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir to “remove regional imbalance in the State.”
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi raised a question in the Lok Sabha whether Jammu and Kashmir had not been included in the delimitation exercise taken up in the country and whether the government considered to undertake it with a view to remove the regional imbalance in the State.
Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy said in a written response that Jammu and Kashmir was not included within the purview of the Delimitation Act, 2002, as Article 170 of the Constitution of India that deals with delimitation of constituencies of State Assemblies had not been extended to the State.
“Delimitation of legislative Assembly constituencies in J&K is carried out under Section 47 and 141 of the Constitution of J&K,” Mr. Reddy said.
He said there were 37,33,111 voters in the Jammu division, 40,10,971 in the Kashmir division and 1,79,147 in the Ladakh division.
He also said that the Election Commission of India had not fixed the dates for holding the Assembly elections in the State.
