Indian Punjab man becomes first non-local to fight election in IIOJK post Art 370 repeal
Srinagar: As fallout of the illegal revocation of Article 370, a resident of Indian Punjab has filed his nomination papers for a parliamentary seat in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, thus becoming the first non-local to be contesting Lok Sabha elections in the territory after August 2019.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Baldev Kumar, a resident of Mohali in Punjab, filed his nomination papers from the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency as an independent candidate.
Kumar does not hold IIOJK’s domicile certificate. He is among 25 candidates who are in the fray from the constituency, which will go to polls on May 7.
Pertinently, Modi government’s August 2019 illegal action was aimed at snatching the unique identity of the Kashmiris and changing the demography of IIOJK by settling non-locals in the territory. The latest move to allow a non-local holding no domicile certificate of IIOJK to contest elections in the territory must be seen in this backdrop.
