Srinagar: With the date for final publication of the electoral rolls for Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) coming near, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ay announce the dates for Assembly Elections in the Union Territory by the end of next week.
Elections may be conducted in five phases
According to a report by News 18, elections in the state may be conducted in five phases. The report said that while the elections may begin in the first week of September, it may go on till October. The forces stationed in the Union Territory for the Amarnath Yatra which will end on August 19 have been asked to stay back, which will be used for area domination exercises, before the Assembly elections. Officials are currently discussing whether North Kashmir can go to polls in the first few phases as the region starts to get snowfall in October. Recently, the commission and other officials said that they are committed to holding elections in the state as per the Supreme Court’s deadline of September 30, 2024.
It is because of this that elections are expected to be held around August 20 as a one-month period period is at least required between announcements of poll dates and the first phase of voting. The Election Commission and the Centre may end their final check on the security situation in J&K this week.
Elections in the UT will be a major step after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 as well as the division of the then states into two Union Territories. Jammu and Kashmir was announced as one union territory, and Ldakh was named as the other.
As per News18, elections in Haryana and Maharashtra can also be held in a single phase in October after the conclusion of elections in J&K. Jharkhand may also go on polls in November or December, it added further.
