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Government says EC's security demand for Anantnag bypoll too high

The unprecedented demand that the Centre finds almost impossible to meet has lead to the possibility of yet another delay of Anantnag bypolls.

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Anantnag bypolls were rescheduled after eight stone-pelters were killed on April 9
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In what could be a record of sorts, the Election Commission has sought over 73,000 central paramilitary personnel (731 companies) to hold parliamentary bypolls in south Kashmir's troubled Anantnag district on May 25.

Flummoxed at the EC's demand, Union Home Ministry sources said that it is logistically impossible to deploy such a huge number of paramilitary forces in such a short span of time.

The unprecedented demand that the Centre finds almost impossible to meet has lead to the possibility of yet another delay of Anantnag bypolls.

As per the general norm, the Centre deploys 10 companies or 1,000 personnel to hold elections in a parliamentary constituency. Interestingly, in comparison the Centre had provided 70,000 paramilitary personnel to hold the recently-held Assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, for as many as 690 Assembly seats.

The EC was virtually forced to postpone Anantnag bypolls scheduled for April 12 after it witnessed the lowest ever voter turnout of 7 per cent in violence-hit Srinagar on April 9 where eight stone-pelting protesters were killed by the security forces. The ruling coalition partner PDP had also threatened to withdraw its candidature from Anantnag if polls were not postponed. A reluctant EC finally decided to defer the elections for May 25.

The EC, apparently, has also asked the Home Ministry not to divert forces from within the Valley and deploy them from outside which has made the proposition all the more difficult. Moreover, the EC wants the Home Ministry to deploy half of the forces (36,000 personnel) 15 days in advance which means before May 10.

It is impossible to meet the EC's demands. First, it is not possible to move such a multitude of force from one place to another in such a short time and second, the paramilitary forces are already under too much fatigue and pressure because of being continuous on duty and pulling them from one place to a totally different and hostile place all of a sudden may call for trouble.

The situation in Kashmir is totally different than what the paramilitary personnel deployed in say, UP, Madhya Pradesh or Andhra Pradesh (from where they would be pulled out) may be facing. Such deployments need prior acclimatisation, said an official source, on the condition of anonymity.

Logistically and logically speaking, we can spare at the most 150 companies that too after stretching ourselves a bit far, the source added.

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