Come September, first assembly poll for Jammu & Kashmir as UT

New Delhi: The long-awaited assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases - September 18, 25 and October 1, the Election Commission (EC) of India announced on Friday.

The Supreme Court had set a deadline of September 30 for polls to be held in Jammu and Kashmir. The chief election commissioner (CEC) cited weather conditions and the Amarnath yatra as factors that had a bearing on the poll calendar.

Haryana will go to polls on October 1, coinciding with the last day of the Jammu and Kashmir election. Counting of votes for both Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir will be on October 4.

Polls to Maharashtra and Jharkhand have been decoupled from this schedule, mainly due to security arrangements for the Jammu and Kashmir election, besides floods delaying electoral work at the block level, the poll panel indicated.

A separate calendar is likely to be announced for the two states over the coming days.

Also Read: Jammu & Kashmir polls to begin from southern Kashmir despite rise in terror

This will be the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, when the state became a Union Territory. That also involved the separation of Ladakh, which was turned into a separate Union Territory.

This is also the first assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir after the 2021 delimitation of constituencies, an exercise that had been conducted after three decades. The UT last held assembly elections in 2014 and has been under President's rule since December 19, 2018.

Apart from the deployment of security forces, the poll panel is also counting on people's trust in the election system.

"The people of Jammu and Kashmir chose ballot over bullet in the Lok Sabha elections," CEC Rajiv Kumar said at a press briefing, pointing to participation in the April-May polls, with almost all constituencies of the UT registering a record turnout after decades.

Terror Challenge

“This glimpse of hope and democracy shows the people want to change the picture. They want to write their own destiny,” said the CEC. There is intense focus on Jammu and Kashmir following a string of recent terror attacks in the Jammu region and looming security threats along the border.

Filing of nominations begins on August 21 and the polling cycle closes in about 40 days, with the announcement of poll results on October 4. The first phase will see voting in 24 seats, followed by 26 in the second and 40 in the third.

The calendar sees three phases, as against the usual four typically seen in the erstwhile state. In 2014, the assembly polls were held in five phases. The recent parliamentary polls were also in five phases.

The CEC also said that while there were challenges, as is evident from the recent terror attacks, all security arrangements are in place and the EC is committed to holding peaceful, free and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The poll watchdog held a meeting with the home ministry on August 14 to ensure adequate security cover for the assembly polls.

The BJP will be seeking to retain power in Haryana under chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, who replaced Manohar Lal Khattar just before the Lok Sabha elections. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is leading the opposition Congress’ campaign. The BJP and Congress won five Lok Sabha seats each in the general election earlier this year. All 10 Lok Sabha seats had gone to the ruling party in 2019. The Haryana assembly has 90 seats.