EC sets ball rolling for J&K Assembly polls, electoral rolls revision by Aug 20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in Srinagar on Thursday that statehood would soon be returned to J&K and that preparations for Assembly elections in the UT are underway.

According to sources, the EC wrote to Chief Electoral Officers of the poll-bound states and UT on Thursday, informing them of the schedule of the special summary revision of electoral rolls. The EC is also holding training for officials of these states and UT in New Delhi this week.

In a statement on Friday, the EC said the pre-special summary revision exercises, including rationalising the locations of polling stations to make them more convenient, will start on June 25.

The electoral rolls will be updated with July 1 as the cut-off for new voters to register, and the draft rolls will be published on July 25, the EC said. After this, electors have the chance to file claims and objections till August 9. The publication of the final electoral rolls will be done by August 20, as per the schedule.

Assembly elections have not been held in J&K since 2018, when the Assembly in what was then a state was dissolved. In 2019, the state was reorganised into two Union Territories – J&K and Ladakh – and the special status provided to the state under Article 370 of the Constitution was repealed.

While upholding the abrogation of special status, the Supreme Court had last year ordered the Election Commission to hold Assembly elections in J&K by September 30, 2024. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had said earlier this month that the poll panel would start the process of conducting the elections “very soon”.

On Thursday, the PM said at an event in Srinagar, “Preparations for Assembly elections have begun. The day is not far when the people of Jammu and Kashmir will vote to elect their government.”

The EC on Friday said, “General election to the Legislative Assembly of UT of J&K is also to be conducted for constituting a new House after delimitation of constituencies. Witnessing the huge participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections, the Commission has also directed for the updation of the electoral rolls in the UT of J&K with July 1, 2024 as the qualifying date.”

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, J&K saw an overall turnout of 58.58 per cent – the highest in 35 years.

Preparations are also underway for elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The tenures of the Assemblies in these states are ending on November 11, November 26, and January 5, 2025 respectively.

The poll panel has also started the process for holding 47 byelections across the country, sources said.