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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made significant alterations to the voting process for Kashmiri migrants at ‘special polling stations’ to enhance inclusivity and convenience, according to a press statement of the Commission.
Under the new arrangement, Kashmiri migrant voters in various zones of Jammu and Udhampur will no longer need to fill out Form M. Instead, they will be assigned to special polling stations in the zones where they are registered or residing.
Furthermore, the Commission has simplified the Form M submission process for migrants residing outside Jammu and Udhampur, such as in Delhi and other locations across the country. Self-attestation is now accepted in place of certification by gazetted officers, although Form M still needs to be completed as before.
While there are four special polling stations for migrants as per past practice, the Postal Ballot facility remains unchanged. To apply for a postal ballot, migrants must complete Form 12 C, regardless of their location – whether in Jammu, Udhampur or in other cities like Delhi, Mumbai, or Noida.
The revised arrangement involves mapping all 22 special polling stations (21 in Jammu and 1 in Udhampur) to the 21 zones (20 in Jammu and 1 in Udhampur) individually. Each zone will have at least one special polling station, with intra-zonal jurisdiction allocated for multiple polling stations in one zone based on accessibility considerations.
Subsequently, the electoral roll extracts corresponding to each special polling station will be derived from the basic electoral rolls of the respective assembly constituencies by the Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (Migrants) in Jammu and Udhampur, following the resolution of objections and claims.
To prevent duplicate voting opportunities, the Assistant Returning Officer (Migrants) in Jammu, who oversees the Postal Ballot scheme, will ensure that electors who have opted for postal ballots using Form 12 C do not vote at the special polling stations in Jammu, Udhampur, or Delhi. Electors who have requested postal ballots will be marked as such in the Electoral Roll Extracts.
