The Election Commission, ostensibly, is a divided on the issue of holding polls in Jammu and Kashmir and has maintained silence on the issue. This seems to have piqued the political parties causing their outburst at the commission.

Considering the precarious political scenario in J-K, it is perceivable that the election commission cannot afford to be indecisive on this issue. Yet the issue remains unsolved.

While election commissioners S Y Qureishi and Navin Chawla are in favor of holding polls immediately, chief election commissioner N Gopalaswamy wants a number of factors - lack of enthusiasm of political parties to hold elections and lack of contingency plans like getting Urdu-speaking poll staff from outside J&K - to be mulled over before schedule is announced.

"We have considered all the issues. At the moment so far no decision has been taken. We are still assessing the situation as far as with regards to Jammu and Kashmir polls," said N Gopalaswami. ''Not holding elections on time sends the wrong signals internationally. Holding elections will expand the space for mainstream political parties and if not, more space will be created for separatist activities.," said BJP national general secretary, Arun Jaitley.