ECI announces J&K assembly poll schedule

New Delhi, Aug 16: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday announced poll dates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana as well as Jammu and Kashmir. Elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir in three phases, with the first phase starting on September 18.

The second phase will be held on September 25 while the final phase will be held on October 1. The election results will be declared on October 4. Haryana Assembly elections will be conducted in a single phase on October 1, coinciding with the last phase of Jammu and Kashmir.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the main regions that will go to polls in the second phase include Srinagar, Ganderbal, Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi The final phase will see north Kashmir, Udhampur, Jammu and Kathua going to polls in the Union Territory. Announcing the poll dates, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said that adequate security arrangements will be made for the ensuing peaceful elections across the UT. Notably, the Assembly elections are due in three states including Haryana, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand.

The terms of legislative assemblies in Haryana and Maharashtra are set to expire on November 3 and November 26 respectively, while Jharkhand’s assembly term concludes in January next year. Earlier in the day, speculations were rife over the announcement of election dates for Jammu and Kashmir, particularly after the Supreme Court set a deadline of September 30 to hold assembly elections in the Union Territory.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said the people of J&K want to write their own destiny as they have chosen ballot over bullet. While addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that they recently visited J&K to take stock of the election preparations.

"A great enthusiasm was seen among the people. They wanted to participate in the election process...," said Kumar. He said, "The long queues at the polling booth in J&K during the Lok Sabha elections are proof that people not only want change but also want to raise their voices by becoming a part of that change. This glimpse of hope and democracy shows that the people want to change the picture. They want to write their own destiny.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir chose ballot over bullet in Lok Sabha elections..." The Chief Election Commissioner said, "During Lok Sabha elections in J&K, people were there to participate in the elections. The long queues and the shine on their faces were a testament to this...There was thriving political participation in the entire election..." The CEC said that during the Lok Sabha elections, "J&K saw an exceptional response to the call of democracy with a three-decade high voter turnout of 58.58 per cent...

Most heartening was the visuals of long queues of young, old, women voters waiting patiently to exercise their franchise." The Supreme Court had directed the ECI to conduct elections in Jammu & Kashmir by September 30. This directive was part of the apex court's ruling on pleas that challenged the revocation of J&K's special status.

The Supreme Court upheld the Central government's decision to nullify Article 370 and also stressed the necessity of taking steps to restore statehood to the UT. The J&K Assembly has 90 Assembly constituencies of which 74 are general, SC are seven and ST nine. The ECI said the total number of voters in the UT is 87.09 lakh, of which 44.46 lakh are males, 42.62 lakh are females, 3.71 lakh are first-time voters and 20.7 lakh are young voters.