Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held soon after the Lok Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said Saturday, as he announced dates for the general election and four state polls, as well as 26 Assembly by-polls.
Mr Kumar told reporters the poll panel – which this week visited J&K to review prep for the Lok Sabha election – judged it not viable, due to security concerns, to hold simultaneous central and state polls in the Union Territory. The panel, however, is “committed” to holding an election there and will do so after the conduct of the Lok Sabha poll, he said.
“All parties in J&K said the Assembly election should be held with the parliamentary polls, but the entire administrative machinery said it cannot be done simultaneously. Every Assembly segment would have 10-12 candidates, which would mean more than 1,000 candidates. Every candidate has to be provided forces. It was not possible,” he said.
“But we stand committed… as soon as these elections are over, we will hold polls there.”
The Election Commission of India this afternoon revealed dates for the Lok Sabha election – to run from April 19 to June 1 – in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP will bid for a third consecutive term, and the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc will try and stop them.
There was speculation the poll panel might also confirm dates for an election in J&K, which is under President’s Rule and has not held an Assembly election for nearly six years now.
That, however, did not materialise.
J&K will hold its parliamentary election in five phases – April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 2.
In December last year, the Supreme Court had directed the conduct of an Assembly election in J&K by September 30, 2024, as the first step in restoration of statehood. The order was part of the verdict on pleas challenging the scrapping of Article 370.
