On Friday, after giving a few hours of heads up for a press conference, the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. Since the media invite had not mentioned the states, the announcement confirmed the speculations that the poll panel might announce elections only in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, while scheduling Maharashtra and Jharkhand for later dates.
The highlights of the announcement included the schedule for Jammu and Kashmir wherein elections will be held in three phases starting September 18. The polling in J&K will be held on September 18, September 25 and October 1. Thus making the EC all set to miss the September 30 deadline set by the Supreme Court for elections in J&K.
Haryana, on the other hand, will vote in a single phase on October 1. The term for Haryana's legislative assembly ends on November 3. The results for both the assemblies will be announced on October 4. The announcement of the schedule comes close on the heels of EC's recent visit to Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana to oversee poll preparedness.
What about Maharashtra & Jharkhand?
The term of Maharashtra's legislative assembly ends on November 26, while Jharkhand's assembly is also coming to an end. Clarifying all the media queries on why the dates hadn't been announced for the other two states, CEC Rajiv Kumar said, "Last time, Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections were held together. At that time, J&K was not a factor but this time there are four elections this year and a fifth election immediately after that. Depending on the requirement of forces, we have decided to conduct 2 elections together." He also said that heavy rainfall in Maharashtra was a factor in delaying the process, as were the upcoming festivals lined up in the state.
Omar Abdullah slams the EC, BJP govt
While seeking an investigation on the timing of the large-scale transfers in Jammu and Kashmir and the announcement of election dates, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah slammed the BJP government. "Several officers were transferred suddenly, we doubt these transfers have been made to benefit the B and C teams of BJP by the L-G which has been put here by BJP."
While briefing the media about the poll logistics, the EC also announced that cVigil App will be available to report any electoral malpractices. The electors can get to know about the candidates in the fray on KYC App. The polls panel also said that it expected more participation from women and the youth.
While Haryana goes to polls for 90 seats, of which 73 are general and 17 reserved for Scheduled Castes, polling will be held for 90 assembly seats in Jammu & Kashmir too, out of which 74 are general and 16 are reserved for SC and ST categories. Over 87 lakh voters are eligible to participate in the J&K assembly polls, for which the final electoral roll will be published on August 20.
