Assembly elections 2024 announcement highlights - August 16, 2024

To ensure “no voter is left behind” in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission will set up three floating polling stations on the Dal Lake and one along the LoC to “exclusively” serve an area that has 100% ST population.

For the three floating polling stations on the Dal Lake, the polling team are taken on ferries and shikaras.

“One of the three polling stations, Khar Mohalla Aabi Karpora, has only three voters,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.

The Koragbal polling station in the Gurez assembly constituency is situated along the Line of Control (LoC) between Indian and Pakistani territories.

“It exclusively serves a 100 per cent Scheduled Tribe (ST) population. In the Lok Sabha elections, the polling station had recorded a voter turnout of 80.01%,” he said.

Seemari is the first polling station in Kupwara district.

“It consistently achieves high voter turnout despite logistical and security challenges,” Mr. Kumar added.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are being held “well within the time period” and will be completed in time against the backdrop of the September 30 deadline set by the Supreme Court to hold the democratic exercise in the union territory.

Addressing a press conference to announce the schedule for the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, he said after the parliamentary polls concluded on June 4, the poll panel waited for the completion of the Amarnath Yatra on August 19. The notification for the first phase in Jammu and Kashmir will be issued on August 20, a day after the Yatra concludes.

Mr. Kumar said the Election Commission also had to keep in mind the weather in the union territory.

- PTI

The Congress welcomed EC’s announcement but said it is unfortunate that the BJP-led Centre has been “insensitive” to the demand of restoration of full statehood which would be an election issue.

The Opposition party also alleged that the recent moves by the Union government have only added to the powers of the lieutenant governor in Jammu and Kashmir, “making a mockery of the powers of a duly elected state government”.

- PTI

J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina said “we are highly grateful to ECI for the announcement of assembly elections in J-K”.

However, the party media incharge Pradeep Malhotra said they are fully prepared for the elections and requested the people to take part in the upcoming elections enthusiastically.

Mr. Malhotra expressed hope that the elections would be peaceful and violence-free.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed the announcement of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and said the polls will further strengthen the roots of democracy and open the doors to a new period of development for the region.

Mr. Shah also appealed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to actively participate in the elections and vote in large numbers to form a government that will sustain peace and development, and ensure a brighter future for the youth.

- PTI

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah welcomed the Election Commission’s announcement of a three phased assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir and said it was better late than never.

“Some time back, the ECI announced the schedule for assembly elections in J-K. People of J-K were waiting for this day for a long time. It is better late than never,” Mr. Abdullah told reporters.

- PTI

With Congress party, the main opposition party in Haryana, seeking to wrest power from the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) as the Assembly election is all set for October 1, the factionalism within the party’s State unit could dent the party’s electoral prospects.

For the faction-ridden Congress, which has been out of power for a decade, the assembly election is a battle to revive the party in the State. Upbeat after its performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls in which the party won five parliamentary seats, of the nine it contested, the Congress got a shot in its arm, and it has stepped up its election campaign.

- Vikas Vasudeva

Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress and CPI (M) welcomed the announcement of the Assembly polls by the Election Commission and said people were eagerly waiting for the restoration of democracy in the Union Territory.

The Election Commission said the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir would be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, and the votes will be counted on October 4.

“Better late than never,” Pradesh Congress Committee senior vice-president Ravinder Sharma told PTI reacting to the announcement by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

He said the people in Jammu and Kashmir were waiting for the assembly elections for the past six years after the fall of the PDP-BJP government in June 2018.

“Though we were pressing for restoration of full statehood before the holding of assembly elections, the announcement by the Election Commission is a welcome step and we are hopeful that the commission will ensure level playing field and adequate security without any discrimination,” said Mr. Sharma, who is also the Congress’ chief spokesperson.

He also hoped that the Election Commission would look into the massive reshuffle in the police and civil administration ordered in the Union Territory on the day of the announcement of polls.

“There should be no unnecessary transfers and if such a thing had happened, the Election commission should take appropriate action,” the Congress leader said.

Senior CPI (M) leader M Y Tarigami also welcomed the announcement of polls.

“It is welcome that after a long time the Election Commission has announced the schedule for elections to the assembly. We also welcome the statement of the EC that it will be a full democratic exercise by ensuring level playing field to all parties and contestants besides sufficient security for candidates and votes as well,” Mr. Tarigami said.

The BJP is aiming for a hattrick in the Haryana Assembly polls to be held on October 1 but faces a tough challenge from a resurgent Congress which is looking to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor.

To offset the Congress challenge, the BJP made a bold move by replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with its then state unit president Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister in March, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Khattar got elected to the Lok Sabha from Karnal and was made a Union minister while Saini won the Karnal Assembly bypoll that was held along with the general elections.

Saini is the BJP’s chief ministerial face for the assembly polls.

-PTI

Bypolls to 46 assembly seats will also be announced in due course, said CEC Rajiv Kumar.

Will ensure due security for all candidates in Jammu and Kashmir as requested by political parties there: CEC Rajiv Kumar.

The counting of votes for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana will be held on October 4, 2024

Haryana will poll in one phase on October 1, the CEC announced. The State has 2.01 crore electors.

-Sreeparna Chakrabarty

The polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held across three phases on September 18, September 25 and Oct 1

There are 87.09 lakh total electors in J&K’s 90 Assembly constituencies, said CEC Rajiv Kumar. 

“We want that layers of democracy are strengthened in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

-Sreeparna Chakrabarty

The press conference to announce the dates for the upcoming Assembly elections has begun. CEC Rajiv Kumar begins by praising the conduct of the ‘historic’ 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“The 2024 Lok Sabha polls were the biggest election process at the world level. It was completed successfully and peacefully. It created a very strongly democratic surface for the entire democratic world, it was peaceful without any violence and the whole country celebrated the festival of elections. We also made many records. For the first time, maximum polling took place in the world,” he said.

(With inputs from ANI)

The J&K Lieutenant Governor’s (LG) administration’s unprecedented reshuffle of at least 198 upper and middle-rung officers in 12 hours in the civil administration and police department on Friday raised many eyebrows, especially from the National Conference (NC). 

Read the story here.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said on Sunday (August 11, 2024) that Assembly elections “will be held soon.” They would be the first since Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to a Union Territory (UT) in 2019.

“I hope elections are held soon in Jammu and Kashmir. The Prime Minister while in Srinagar for Yoga Day on June 20 said that elections would be held as soon as possible. An Election Commission team was also here,” Mr. Sinha said.

Read the story here.

The Aam Aadmi Party will contest all 90 seats in the Haryana Assembly elections, senior party leader Sanjay Singh said on July 18.

Read the story here.

National Conference (JKNC) Vice President Omar Abdullah on Thursday stressed the need for early assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

He said, “We don’t know that for sure (if dates will be announced for J&K). That’s speculation. We hope that they are announcing dates for J&K. But in the past, we have also expected an announcement and one hasn’t been forthcoming. J&K has been without an elected assembly since 2018.

“This is perhaps the longest period without an elected government in J&K. So, we hope that the ECI will use today’s opportunity to announce early elections in J&K, in keeping with what the Supreme Court of India has said, because this is as per their guidelines and their directives,” the JKNC leader added.

-ANI

The terms of the existing legislative Assemblies will end on November 3 (Haryana), November 26 (Maharashtra) and January 5, 2025 (Jharkhand) and polls are required to be conducted before the completion of their terms.

In December last year, the Supreme Court had directed the poll body to hold Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30.

While the Lok Sabha polls were about saving democracy and the Constitution, the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election will be a battle to protect the self-respect of the State, says Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray at the MVA’s first joint meeting of party workers and office-bearers in Mumbai on Friday.

-Abhinay Deshpande

In a major shakeup in the Jammu and Kashmir Police, several senior officers were transferred by the administration on Friday while the intelligence wing got a new chief.

In three separate orders, the Jammu and Kashmir administration transferred senior police officers with immediate effect.

This came a day after senior IPS officer Nalin Prabhat was appointed as Special DG of Jammu and Kashmir Police. He will assume the role of the force’s chief following the retirement of R R Swain on September 30.

The developments in the Union Territory’s police force as well as several transfers and posting of officials in the civil administration are seen by many as a precursor to the assembly election in the Union Territory that has to be held before September 30, a deadline set by the Supreme Court.

-PTI