JK parties hit at BJP after EC announces that ordinary residents of country can vote in J&K elections

Political parties here have hit out at the BJP, after Chief Electoral Officer of J&K Hirdesh Kumar said that every citizen of the country staying ordinarily in J&K can register as a voter here and cast vote in the next assembly elections after abrogation of Article 370.
There is a least possibility of Assembly polls being held this year in J&K.
Kashmir mainstream political parties said the move was aimed at helping the BJP.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said that BJP is insecure. “Is the BJP so insecure about support from genuine voters of J&K that it needs to import temporary voters to win seats? None of these things will help the BJP when the people of J&K are given a chance to exercise their franchise,” Omar tweeted.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that move is aimed at continuing ruling J&K with an iron fist to disempower locals.
“GOIs (government of India’s) decision to defer polls in J&K preceded by egregious gerrymandering tilting the balance in BJPs favour & now allowing non locals to vote is obviously to influence election results. Real aim is to continue ruling J&K with an iron fist to disempower locals,” she said.
Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone termed it much more than a mischief and asked the union government not to replay 1987- a reference to polls which were widely believed to have been rigged and became a trigger for the armed insurgency.
“This is dangerous. I don’t know what they want to achieve. This is much more than a mischief. Democracy is a relic especially in the context of Kashmir. Please remember 1987. We r yet to come out of that. Don’t replay 1987. It will be as disastrous,” Lone said.
CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami said what CEO has said amounts to “disenfranchising the people of Jammu and Kashmir further.”
“The delimitation process through reorganisation act was an attempt to change the electoral demography of the region . In the absence of any representative government in J&K the union government has been exercising undiluted control in the region through a beaurocratic structure since June 2018. Today,s statement of CEO is a brazen assault on the legitimate aspirations of the people,” he said.
Citing Representation of the People Act, 1951, CEO J&K CEO said after the abrogation of Article 370, every citizen staying ordinarily in J&K for job, education, labour, business, purpose can register as a voter in J&K & cast his/her vote in the next assembly elections.