The 10-page order said said "in view of the prevailing ground situation and non-availability of sufficient security forces, the Commission is of the considered view that peaceful, free and fair poll is not feasible on May 25, as scheduled, though some political parties have asked for the same." The EC said it had also considered postponing the polls to another date but it was not a feasible option.
The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Mehbooba Mufti in July last when she became the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The parliamentary seat was to go to polls on April 12 which were postponed due to violence during the April 9 polling for Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in which eight people were killed.
A home ministry official told PTI that the EC had been told that around 300 companies of paramilitary personnel could be arranged for deployment during the bypoll. A company of paramilitary comprises around 100 personnel.
There are around 10 lakh paramilitary personnel under the Home Ministry's command, but it is difficult to assemble them from different parts of the country on such a short notice, the official said.
The PDP, the ruling coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir, had urged the EC to defer indefinitely the Anantnag bypoll in the wake of the "volatile situation".
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