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.
