Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar stated on Saturday that the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will take place shortly after the Lok Sabha polls. He also announced the dates of the general election, four state polls, and 26 Assembly by-polls.
When questioned about why the assembly elections aren’t taking place at the same time as the national elections, Kumar responded that it isn’t feasible to give security troops to every candidate while elections are taking place all over the nation. He continued by saying that following a delimitation exercise, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was changed in December 2023, and that the Election Commission’s (EC) clock has since begun to run.
Dates for the Lok Sabha election, which will take place from April 19 to June 1, were released by the Election Commission of India this afternoon. The opposition bloc led by the Congress will attempt to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party from seeking a third straight term.
The poll panel was rumoured to also confirm the dates of an election in J&K, which is governed by President’s Rule and hasn’t had an Assembly election in almost six years.
As a first step toward restoring statehood, the Supreme Court ordered in December of last year that an Assembly election in J&K be held by September 30, 2024. The order was a component of the decision reached in the cases contesting the repeal of Article 370. The J&K parliamentary election is scheduled to take place in five stages: on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 2.
