The Election Commission of India has banned five former candidates in Kashmir from standing for any elections for three years after they failed to submit statements for expenditure incurred by them during 2014 state elections.
Those banned include Abdur Rehman (BJP), Muhammad Iqbal Zargar (All India Forward Block), Ghulam Ahmad Bhat (independent), Ghulam Muhammad Parrey (independent) and Nazir Ahmed Wani (independent).
According to an ECI order, these candidates have been disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of the Parliament or of Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council for a period of three years starting from June 7, 2018.
Sources in the ECI disclosed the national poll body has sought reports from all districts in the state about candidates who have not submitted expenditure statements.
“It is a continuous process. All the candidates disqualified from contesting polls are from Bandipora district. Similar action will be taken against defaulting candidates of other districts,” an official told Greater Kashmir.
The ECI took the action under the Jammu and Kashmir Representation of Peoples Act, 1957 that provides for a three-year ban on contesting elections in case a candidate fails to submit expenditure statement.
“The said candidates have not furnished any reason or explanation for the said failure even after due notice and the ECI is thus satisfied that they have no good reason or justification for this, “reads the order issued by ECI Principal Secretary, Standhope Yuhlung.
Repeated attempts to seek comments of Chief Electoral Shaleen Kabra proved unsuccessful.
The expenditure limit for campaigning for each candidate in J&K is Rs 28 lakh.