A three-member demarcation committee redrawn the electoral map of J&K on Thursday, designating 47 assembly seats for the Kashmir division in a final order submitted a day before its two-year term ends. Forty-three seats are assigned.

A gazette notice was issued after a panel led by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai signed the final order, which will give Jammu an extra six seats and Kashmir an extra one. Before the reorganisation, the total assembly seats in the Union Territory reached 90, including 37 assembly constituencies in Jammu and 46 assembly constituencies in Kashmir.

The committee, which also includes Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and J&K Elections Commissioner KK Sharma as ex officio members, recommended that the UT Legislative Assembly have at least two members from Kashmiri immigrants including one from the women’s community. In a statement, the committee said they should be on a par with members nominated by the voting Pondicherry Assembly.

Established in March 2020 to delineate assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the UT based on the 2011 census, the committee also recommended that the government should consider nominating several constituencies in the assembly for displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied J&K.

Additionally, after consultation with representatives of political parties, citizens, and civil society groups, for the first time, nine seats have been proposed for the intended tribes – six in Jammu and three in the valley. The group has redrawn the Anantnag assembly constituency in Kashmir, adding seats to the Rajouri and Poonch constituencies in the Jammu region. The UT has five parliamentary constituencies, each with 18 assembly seats. The names of some assembly seats have been changed, taking into account the needs of local representation and public sentiment involving the name change, the statement said.

Tangmarg has been renamed Gulmarg, Zoonimar is Zaidibal, Sonwar is now Lal Chowk, Padder is Padder-Nagseni, Kathua North is Jasrota, Kathua South is Kathua, Khour is Chhamb, Mahore is Gulabhgarh, and Darhal is Budhal.
“The delineation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the UT of J&K is a challenging task. The committee visited the UT twice, during which it interacted with delegations and officials,” the statement added.

“The unique geographic and cultural landscape of the UTs presents unique problems due to competing political aspirations between geographically and culturally distinct regions,” the statement said. During the public hearing, the committee received several statements from Kashmiri migrants and displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied J&K. The Kashmiri migrant delegation told the committee that they had been persecuted for the past three decades and had been forced into exile in their country as refugees.

Some have urged that seats be reserved for them in J&K’s assembly and the parliament to preserve their political rights. Displaced people from PoJK also asked the committee to reserve a minority seat for them in the J&K Legislative Assembly, the statement said.