In a significant move benefiting Kashmiri migrants, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has eliminated the complex procedure of M Forms for displaced individuals from the Valley to exercise their voting rights.
As per revised directives, the ECI has streamlined the voting process for Kashmiri migrants by removing the requirement of M Forms for Jammu and Udhampur. However, postal ballots through Form 12 C will remain an option for migrants opting for postal voting.
An ECI spokesperson stated that as part of the Commission's ongoing efforts to enhance electoral inclusivity and convenience, modifications have been made to the voting process for Kashmiri migrants at special polling stations.
Under the updated arrangement, Kashmiri migrant voters residing in various camps/zones in Jammu and Udhampur will no longer be required to complete Form M. Instead, they will be allocated to Special Polling Stations corresponding to their registered zones of residence.
In addition to this, the Commission also eased the process of filing Form M by those migrants who are staying outside Jammu and Udhampur, i.e. Delhi and other places in the rest of the country, by allowing ‘self-attestation’ instead of the earlier required certification by Gazetted officers. However, they shall be required to fill Form M as earlier. It is mentionable fact that there are four Special Polling Stations for migrants as per past practice, official said.
The official said there is, however, no change in the Postal Ballot facility and the same continues to be as notified earlier. They (migrants intending to cast their vote through postal ballot) have to fill Form 12 C for seeking postal ballot. Form 12 C can be filled by any migrant, no matter where he is residing – at Jammu / Udhampur or Delhi, Mumbai, Noida or any other part of the country.The official said the migrant irrespective of his / her age can cast his vote putting up at any part of the country be filling up Form 12 C. Even the migrants putting up at Jammu and Udhampur can also avail this facility, official added.The amended arrangement envisaged the mapping of all 22 special polling stations (21 in Jammu and 1 in Udhampur) to the 21 Zones (20 in Jammu and 1 in Udhampur) individually, ensuring that every zone has at least one Special Polling Station, the official said. In case there are multiple polling stations in one zone, the zonal officers shall earmark the intra-zonal jurisdiction for each such Polling Station keeping in mind the distance/ease of approach for each set of electors, the official added.