Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu during a press conference to announce the schedule for Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, in New Delhi. (Image: PTI)
Rajiv Kumar said that it is necessary to ‘go by the spirit’ and said the polling in Jammu and Kashmir will begin and end on time.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Friday clarified why the assembly election schedule in Jammu and Kashmir has extended past the Supreme Court’s September 30 deadline while announcing the dates of general assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday announced three-phased assembly elections in J-K from September 18 which will be held after a decade, setting the stage for the people of the union territory to elect a government after the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019.
“The Amarnath Yatra will conclude on August 19, and the final voter list will be released on August 20. This demonstrates the commitment to conducting elections in Jammu and Kashmir,” Kumar said.
“There is no way one could have gone exactly on the date i.e August 19. It is being held within the time period and it will be finished on time,” Kumar said when asked about the delay.
Assembly polls in the Union Territories will be held in three phases, with voting on September 18, September 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will be held on October 4.
“It is not the day here that is important. What is important (here) is that we go by the spirit. The amendments made to the J&K Reorganisation Act in terms of providing the reservations came in December 2023. The time period for the Commission started only in December 2023. Thereafter came the parliamentary elections, so we are not delayed at all,” he said.
Political parties across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday hailed the Election Commission’s announcement of three-phase assembly elections as marking a significant step towards restoring democracy in the region after six years of central rule.
National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah expressed gratitude to the Election Commission for expediting the poll process.
Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of the erstwhile state, remarked on the long wait for the announcement, saying, “It is better late than never.” He noted that this election cycle might be the first since the 1987-88 elections to be conducted within such a condensed time frame.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary GA Mir expressed appreciation for the EC’s decision, noting that it reflected the public’s aspirations for a popular government.
Itija Mufti, a prominent People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader and the daughter of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, also welcomed the EC’s announcement.
Welcoming the EC’s announcement, senior CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami acknowledged the importance of a democratic process that ensured fairness and security for all participants.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina expressed gratitude to the EC and emphasised his party’s preparation for the elections, calling on citizens to actively participate.
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were last held in November 2014, resulting in the PDP and the BJP forming a coalition government led by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
His death in 2016 led to Mehbooba Mufti taking up the mantle of leadership as chief minister of the coalition government.
The BJP pulled out of the government in June 2018 and the state was put under governor’s rule. The state assembly was dissolved in 2018.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated and downgraded the erstwhile state into two Union territories — Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
