J-K Assembly Election 2024 To Be Historic For Displaced Families From PoK; Here's Why

J-K Assembly Election 2024: Assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir later this year. The 90 Assembly constituencies spread across the union territory are slated to go to the polls in three phases starting September 18. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 4. This will be the first Assembly election in present-day Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory (UT) that came into existence after the bifurcation of the state of the same name in 2019. The undivided Jammu and Kashmir witnessed its last Assembly polls in 2014.

However, this won't be the only highlight of the much-anticipated polls. For the first time, the members of the families that had migrated to India from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir at the time of partition will also be eligible to cast their votes in an election held to elect members of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

WHY DISPLACED PERSONS FROM PoK COULDN'T VOTE EARLIER?

For nearly 70 years, these displaced individuals and their descendants were denied residency rights in the erstwhile state of J-K due to Article 370, which was eventually scrapped by the second successive government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2019.

Although their Indian citizenship allowed them the right to vote in parliamentary elections and apply for jobs in the Central government, they did not have the right to own property or the right to vote in assembly elections or the eligibility to apply for jobs advertised by the Jammu and Kashmir government.

"In 1947, we were displaced from Pakistan and came to Jammu and Kashmir to take refuge. We got refuge here, but since we could not become permanent citizens, we could not vote in the assembly elections. After the removal of Article 370, we have become permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir and not outsiders. So this time we will vote in the assembly elections for the first time. We will send such a candidate to the assembly who will solve our problems," Balkar Singh, a resident of Chak Jafar in J-K's Marh tehsil, said.

Meanwhile, Rishi Khajuriya, another resident of Marh's Chatha Gujran, stated, "Earlier, due to Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, we did not have the right to vote. Therefore, no leader would come to us during elections. We were even ignored. Ever since Article 370 has been removed, we have started being respected in various parties, because we are a vote bank for them. This time we will vote in the assembly elections for the first time. This is a very happy occasion for us."

(With inputs from Jagran correspondent, agencies)