EC appoints three special observers for Jammu and Kashmir
A committee, comprising three "eminent" members to assess the situation on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir, has been formed by the Election Commission, before it takes a decision about holding the Assembly elections in the troubled state.
Here are the three members of the committee who will work as special observers
Noor Mohammad: A former IAS officer of 1977 batch, he has worked in the area of election management for more than a decade and has been international consultant on election in Afghanistan for many years. He is currently working as senior consultant in the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM). He has worked as Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh and Deputy Election Commissioner in the commission.
He has also served as Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University from where he had obtained his B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. (Physics). He later pursued PhD from Lucknow University in Economics.
Vinod Zutshi: A former IAS officer of 1982 batch who has served as Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Rajasthan and Deputy Election Commissioner for many years, he has long experience in elections and has been contributing to the Commission as national and international trainer. He has 35 years experience of administration at district, state and national level and retired as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism in Februrary 2017. A MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, he had worked in the corporate sector for four years before joining IAS. He has also pursued law from Delhi University. His area of expertise include public policy and administration, election, management and law.
A.S. Gill: A retired IPS officer of 1972 batch from Rajasthan cadre, Gill has served as the Inspector General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir and later as its Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He has wide experience in security management in difficult areas including those affected by Maoists. Born in Punjab, Gill served Rajasthan Police in senior positions and has also experience of working on issues related to human rights.
Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Sunday announced that assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will not be held along with Lok Sabha polls.
The poll panel said only Lok Sabha elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir. For Lok Sabha seats, the elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in five phases while the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat will have polling in three phases due to security reasons.
“EC recently visited J-K, met political parties and government officials... Due to constraints in number of security forces and recent violent incidents in Jammu and Kashmir there will be no assembly elections in the state.” Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said.
Leaders of political parties met an Election Commission team, earliet this month, headed by the chief election commissioner and requested for simultaneous polls for both Lok Sabha and the state assembly.
