The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election – pending since 2014 with the former state under Governor’s Rule since 2018 – will be held on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with results to be announced on October 4, the Election Commission said Friday afternoon.

This marks a big step forward in efforts to meet a Supreme Court order – that democracy return to Jammu and the Kashmir Valley by September 30. In Srinagar last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said an election will be held soon and that statehood would be restored.

In preparation for the election, the EC said, the final voter list would be published by August 20, the day after the Amarnath Yatra ends. Around 87 lakh voters, he said, are expected to vote.

“The people want change… they want to script a new future,” Election Commission chief Rajiv Kumar said, as he outlined the poll body’s plans to hold a safe and successful election in J&K.

“We recently visited J&K to take stock of election preparation. Great enthusiasm was seen… people want to participate in the process. People want elections as early as possible…” he said, recalling the “long queues” at polling booths in J&K and Ladakh during the Lok Sabha election.

Those queues, he said, were “proof people not only want change but also want to become part of that change. Glimpse of hope and democracy shows the people want to change the picture… they want to write their own destiny. The people chose ballots over bullets…” he declared.

An EC team led by Mr Kumar visited J&K for two days earlier this month, during which time they met with representatives from political parties as well as senior police and security officials.

And, hours before today’s dates announcement, there had been a large-scale reshuffle of senior police officers, including district chiefs and the head of J&K Police’s Intelligence unit.

The reshuffle also came as several districts in Jammu face increased terror attacks.

That was the third visit by the EC since 2019; the two earlier visits were related to the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Both times the poll panel declined to hold simultaneous elections.

In December last year the top court had directed the Election Commission to hold Assembly polls by September 30 of this year. The court was hearing petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370 and the bifurcation of J&K into the union territories of J&K and Ladakh.

The court upheld the Article 370 decision but said steps should be taken for J&K to have a democratically elected government and for restoration of its statehood at the earliest.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also upheld the decision to carve out the union territory of Ladakh in August 2019, weeks before an Assembly election was due.

Haryana is set to vote in a single phase on October 1 to elect a new state government, the Election Commission announced today. The results for the Haryana assembly elections will be declared on October 4.

A total of 20,629 polling stations – including 7,132 urban and 13,497 rural – will be set up for over 2 crore voters, said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Booths will be set up in multistoried buildings as well in urban areas in Gurugram, Sonepat and Faridabad.

There are 90 seats in the Haryana assembly, including 73 General and 17 Scheduled Castes (SC) seats. As many as 10,321 centenarians voters will also be part of the democractic process.

The Gazette notification for the elections will be issued on September 5. September 12 will be the last date for making nominations, September 13 the last date for scrutiny and September 16 the last date for withdrawal of candidatures.  

“We are ready to hold inclusive and accessible elections,” declared Mr Kumar.

The term of the current assembly ends on November 3. Election officials had recently visited Haryana to oversee the poll preparedness.

Hours ahead of the likely announcement, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini released the first instalment of a bonus for over 5.20 lakh farmers in the state. The Rs 2,000 per acre bonus for Kharif crops was released in view of a rain deficit this year. He also announced veterinary polyclinics in eight districts and Rs 3 lakh insurance cover for dairy farmers earning less than Rs 3 lakh annually.

An announcement of election marks the beginning of Model Code of Conduct (MCC), during which government can’t announce any major policy or scheme. This period lasts till the counting of votes.

The election is likely to see all major parties going solo with no pre-poll alliances announced yet.

The BJP will contest all 90 seats alone under the leadership of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Home Minister Amit Shah had announced in June.

Haryana Congress’s Bhupinder Hooda had said there was no alliance between his party and the AAP – two major Opposition forces that fought the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana together.

In 2019, the BJP had won 40 seats and formed the government with Dushyant Chautala’s JJP (10 seats). But the alliance ended earlier this year with a change of guard in the BJP as Mr Saini replaced ML Khattar as the Chief Minister. The Congress ended up in the opposition with 31 seats.

The Election Commission also announced the schedule for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, where the polling will be held in three phases – September 18 and 25, and October 1. The votes will be counted on October 4.

Elections are also due in Maharashtra this yearend, but the schedule has not been announced yet.

There is concern about a new strain of the disease that has been spreading in parts of Africa. 

​There is concern about a new strain of the disease that has been spreading in parts of Africa.