New Delhi/Srinagar: Assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir after a decade in three phases from September 18, setting the stage for the people of the union territory to elect a government after the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019.
The Election Commission also announced that elections to the 90-member Haryana assembly will be held on October 01 and results for both the polls will be declared on October 04.
The two assembly elections will be the first popularity test for the BJP and the INDIA bloc following the Lok Sabha polls.
The three-phase elections to the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly will be held on September 18, September 25 and October 01, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a press conference in the presence of Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
After suffering reverses in the Lok Sabha polls, including in Haryana, the BJP is keen to regain political momentum by retaining power in the state and putting up a strong show in Jammu and Kashmir, where its strongholds have been traditionally confined to the Jammu division.
The Congress, however, is hoping to continue with its political revival by toppling the BJP from power in Haryana after 10 years and inflicting losses on its rival in the Jammu region where the two parties are the main contestants.
Two regional parties, the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, have won most of the seats in the Kashmir valley between them in past elections. Both parties are part of the INDIA bloc along with the Congress but all three of them fought separately in the Lok Sabha elections, a scenario likely to persist in the assembly polls too.
In the last assembly in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014, the BJP had won 25 of its 87 seats and had joined hands with the PDP to form the government under the leadership of the regional party’s leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Jammu and Kashmir assembly now has 90 seats following delimitation.
CEC Kumar said assembly elections in Maharashtra, which were held along with Haryana in 2019, will be announced later due to security requirements for Jammu and Kashmir.
He said four elections are due this year and by early next year and since Jammu and Kashmir was not in the picture last time (2019-20) the Commission decided to group two assembly elections together.
Besides Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, elections are due in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi.
Kumar said the next set of elections will be announced after the completion of the polls in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana.
While 24 seats will go to the polls in the first phase in Jammu and Kashmir, elections will be held in 26 seats and 40 seats in the second and third phases respectively.
The seats going to poll in phase-one include Pampore,Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, D.H. Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara – Bijbehara, Shangus – Anantnag East, Pahalgam, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder – Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban and Banihal.
According to the poll-body, 26 seats would go to the polls in the second phase for which notification would be issued on August 29. The voting in these seats spread over three districts each of central Kashmir and Pir Panchal region and Reasi district would take place on September 25.
The seats going to polls in second phase include Kangan (ST), Ganderbal, Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habbakadal, Lal Chowk, Channapora, Zadibal, Eidgah, Central Shalteng, Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib, Chrar-i-Sharief, Chadoora, Gulabgarh (ST), Reasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Kalakote – Sunderbani, Nowshera Rajouri (ST), Budhal (ST), Thannamandi (ST), Surankote (ST), Poonch Haveli and Mendhar (ST).
In the last phase, elections would take place for as many as 40 seats. While the notification for this phase would be issued on September 05, the voting would take place on October 01.
The seats going to polls in the 3rd phase include Karnah, Trehgam, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara, Langate, Sopore, Rafiabad, Uri, Baramulla, Gulmarg, Wagoora – Kreeri, Pattan, Sonawari, Bandipora, Gurez (ST), Udhampur West, Udhampur East, Chenani, Ramnagar (SC),Bani, Billawar, Basohli, Jasrota, Kathua (SC), Hiranagar, Ramgarh (SC) Samba, Vijaypur, Bishnah (SC), Suchetgarh (SC),R.S. Pura – Jammu South, Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Marh (SC), Akhnoor (SC) and Chhamb.
The last assembly elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in November-December 2014 in five phases.
The announcement by the Election Commission comes months after the Supreme Court upheld the Centre’s decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and directed that Assembly elections be held by September 30.
While referring to polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the CEC told reporters that in the Lok Sabha elections, people in the UT reposed faith in ballot and rejected bullets and boycotts.
He said the voter turnout in parliamentary elections in UT “proved people’s faith in democracy”. (With inputs from PTI)
CEC turns poetic!
New Delhi: Committing on the enthusiastic participation of voters in Lok Sabha polls in J&K, CEC Rajiv Kumar said in poetic way:
In long queues is hidden the message of changing situation,
Meaning, the story of democracy;
The glowing hopes will now speak about your changing destiny.
Your participation in the festival of democracy,
The world will watch the defeat of enemy’s dirty thoughts.
And, people of Jammu and Kashmir will script,
A new history of democracy. (Translated from Hindi)
