Guwahati: The Election Commission has announced assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, setting the stage for a significant political contest following the recent Lok Sabha elections.
The Jammu and Kashmir polls are especially notable as they will be the first in a decade and the first since the revocation of the region’s special status.
In Jammu and Kashmir, voting will be conducted in three phases starting September 18. In contrast, Haryana will hold its assembly election in a single phase on October 1. The vote counting for both states will occur on October 4.
This will be Jammu and Kashmir’s first assembly election since the region’s special status under Article 370 was revoked and its statehood withdrawn in August 2019. The last assembly elections in the region were held in late 2014.
The previous coalition government, formed by the BJP and the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lasted until June 2018.
After the BJP withdrew support, the state assembly was dissolved by Governor Satya Pal Malik in November 2018, and Jammu and Kashmir has been under the governor’s rule since then.
The Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to conduct elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024, and urged the central government to restore statehood promptly. This follows petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the National Conference (NC) led by Farooq Abdullah and the BJP each won two seats, with an Independent candidate, Abdul Rashid Sheikh (Engineer Rashid), also securing a seat.
Farooq Abdullah has declared his intention to contest the upcoming assembly election and is confident of securing a majority. The PDP, led by Mehbooba Mufti, aims to recover from a poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress is expected to target Jammu, where it traditionally has stronger support and organizational structure.
In Haryana, the BJP is intensifying its election preparations, aiming to secure a strong position in the state. The outcome of these elections will have significant implications for both local governance and national politics.