New Delhi, Aug 16 (NVI):- The much-awaited Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three-phases from September 18 and counting of votes will take place on October 4, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced today.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajeev Kumar, in the presence of other two Election Commissioners, pointed out that the elections this time are being conducted in the shortest time, even shorter than the Parliamentary polls held in April-May this year.
While the first phase of polling will be held on September 18, the second phase will take place on September 25 and third phase on October 1.
Votes will be counted on October 4 and the entire poll process will be completed by October 6, he said.
Jammu and Kashmir has 90 Assembly constituencies, three more this time as a result of the delimitation of constituencies.
Out of these 43 are in Jammu region and 47 in Kashmir Division.
There are 74 General seats, 7 reserved for Scheduled Castes, and 9 for Scheduled Tribes.
There are approximately 87.9 lakh eligible voters in J&K, with a near-equal distribution between male and female voters.
The CEC said the poll process will start on August 20, a day after completion of the annual Amarnath Yatra.
Jammu and Kashmir has been without an Assembly since June 2018 when the state legislature was dissolved.
Since then, the status of Jammu and Kashmir has also been lowered from a State to a Union Territory since 2019, after the revocation of Article 370.
There have been umpteen demands for holding the the Assembly elections, particularly when Parliamentary polls have been held smoothly in 2019 as well as this year.
Earlier, the matter finally reached the Supreme Court, which last year set a deadline of September-end for holding the Assembly elections.
The UT will have 11,838 polling stations across 9,169 locations, mostly in rural areas, including 360 model polling stations.
Reflecting on the recent Lok Sabha elections, CEC Kumar highlighted the strong voter turnout, signaling a shift in the political and security environment.
He expressed optimism about increased participation, particularly from women and youth, and anticipated vigorous election campaigns.
Kumar underscored the significant enthusiasm witnessed during the Lok Sabha elections, where long voter queues symbolized the people’s desire to engage in the democratic process and shape their future.
He described the choice to participate in elections as a triumph of the ballot over the bullet, with people rejecting violence in favor of democracy.
The CEC also mentioned that measures have been taken to ensure inclusive participation, especially for migrant voters, who will have the option of self-attestation to cast their votes.
The Lok Sabha elections in J&K were largely incident-free, with no need for re-polling, and resulted in the seizure of drugs and liquor worth Rs 100 crore. (News Vibes of India)
