Ahead of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP today raised concern over the decrease in number of Kashmiri migrant voters, and moved the Election Commission seeking simplification of procedures and time till October 15 for getting them registered to vote in the polls.
A delegation of BJP leaders, led by party vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, today met Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath and other ECs and demanded that the deadline for Kashmiri migrants to register themselves as voters in Jammu and Kashmir be extended till October 15.
The delegation, comprising BJP general secretaries J P Nadda and Ram Madhav, and party in-charge of J&K affairs Avinash Rai Khanna, also demanded simplification of 'M-form' required for getting the Kashmiri migrants registered as voters in the state.
The BJP leaders said while the number of voters across the country is increasing, that of Kashmiri migrants is decreasing. They also requested the EC to set up more polling booths outside Jammu and Kashmir to enable the Kashmiri migrants to vote in the upcoming assembly polls.
"We met the Election Commissioners to air our concerns over the decreasing number of registered Kashmiri migrant voters. From 3 lakh voters some time ago, the number has come down to 1.5 lakh now. This is a cause for concern.
"The ECs heard us patiently and assured that they will look into our grievances and redress them soon," Nadda told reporters after the meeting.
The delegation demanded online registration facility for Kashmiri migrant voters. They also requested the EC to make the final Voters' List available online and double the number of polling booths for such voters outside the state.
