Ultimately, Kashmiri migrants residing in Jammu, Udhampur, are no longer required to fill out form M to vote. Kashmiri Pandit migrants have long been insisting on simplification of their voting process as they face difficulties in filling up Form M every election, which brings a lot of struggle in exercising their right to franchise. The Election Commission (EC) on Friday has eventually eased the voting process for Kashmiri migrants living in Jammu and Udhampur, who will no longer need to fill an additional ‘Form M.’ The EC said now they would be “mapped” with special polling stations to be set up in their current residing zones.
It was during the 1996 J&K Assembly elections that Form ‘M’ was introduced to enable Kashmiri pandits migrants to vote in their constituencies in the valley even while staying in exile. After the announcement of any Assembly or Lok Sabha elections, the eligible migrant voter could collect the “Form M” from the office of the Relief Commissioner or their respective zonal officer, fill it out, and get it signed by a gazetted officer. This form was to be filled by the heads of Kashmiri Pandit migrant families staying at different places in Jammu and elsewhere in the country. They needed to affix their photographs and proclaim their native place in the Valley before migration. They also needed to specify the details of adult members in their families who were also eligible as voters.
The EC has now started mapping Kashmiri Pandit migrant voters in Jammu and Udhampur districts and also said it would set up special polling stations falling in their zones. As per the new scheme, separate constituency-wise voter lists will be released for migrant voters living in each zone so that they cast their vote at the polling booth set up on polling day for their respective constituencies.
EC stated that the Jammu & Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer had also agreed with this demand of political parties on April 9. The 22 special polling stations (21 in Jammu and one in Udhampur) would be mapped according to the camps or zones so that every zone has at least one special polling station, it said.
Although EC has eased its procedure, Kashmiri Pandit migrants staying in other places will still need to fill “Form M” to cast their votes in their native Valley constituencies. General elections will be held in the Union Territory on April 19 (Udhampur) and April 26 (Jammu), May 7 (Anantnag-Rajouri), May 13 (Srinagar) and May 20 (Baramulla).
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