Jammu & Kashmir to Elect New Assembly After 10-Year Gap
The Election Commission of India announced the schedules for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Haryana on Friday.
In Jammu and Kashmir, voting will be conducted in three phases: September 18 for the first phase, September 25 for the second, and October 1 for the final phase. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 4.
Following the recent delimitation, the J&K Assembly now comprises 90 seats, with 43 seats allocated to the Jammu region and 47 to Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir have been without an elected assembly for five years since the abrogation of Article 370.
The last Assembly election in J&K took place in 2014, marking a ten-year gap before the upcoming election. The previous PDP-BJP coalition government collapsed in June 2018 when the BJP withdrew support from then-Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
In Haryana, the election will be held in a single phase on October 1, with vote counting also scheduled for October 4. The current Haryana Assembly’s term is set to expire in November.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar made the announcement after assessing poll preparations during recent visits to both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana.
During a press conference, Rajiv Kumar revealed that Jammu and Kashmir have a total of 87.09 lakh registered voters, including 44.46 lakh men and 42.62 lakh women. Notably, 3.71 lakh are first-time voters, and 20.7 lakh fall into the young voter category. Of the 90 assembly constituencies in J&K, 74 are general, 7 are reserved for Scheduled Castes, and 9 for Scheduled Tribes.
The CEC mentioned that the Amarnath Yatra will conclude on August 19, and the final voter list will be published on August 20.
In response to concerns about a recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, Kumar assured that the Election Commission would ensure all necessary security measures are in place. He emphasized that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are ready to confront the challenges posed by terrorists.
Reflecting on the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajiv Kumar noted the high voter turnout as evidence of the people’s desire for change and their willingness to participate in the democratic process. He stated, “The long queues at polling booths in the UT during the Lok Sabha election are proof that people not only want change but also want to raise their voice by becoming a part of that change.” He further highlighted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have chosen ballots over bullets.
On August 14, the Election Commission conducted a meeting with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
In December last year, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to complete the election process in the Union Territory by September 30, 2024.
