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New Delhi, Aug 16 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir will go to the assembly polls in three phases, beginning from September 18, after a decade and first since the abrogation of Article 370.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, announcing the schedule here on Friday said the next two phases of voting will take place on September 25 and October 1.
The Counting of votes will take place on October 4 along with votes polled in Haryana Assembly election which will be held on October 1.
No Assembly elections have been held in Jammu and Kashmir in the last 10 years and the union territory has been without an elected government for the past six years, following the PDP-BJP coalition government fell in June 2018, when the BJP withdrew support.
The election schedule for J&K and Haryana was announced by Rajiv Kumar along with the two Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, after the Supreme Court directed that Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir should be held by September 30.
The CEC said that the polling will be held for 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 74 are general, and 16 reserved for ST – 9, SC – 7.
Talking about the electors data, he said a total 87.09 lakh voters are there in Jammu and Kashmir, including 44.46 lakh male voters and 42.62 lakhs female voters.
Rajiv Kumar also made a stark observation over holding the election in J&K, saying that the people in Jammu and Kashmir “chose ballots over bullets”.
“In the Lok Sabha election held in April and May this year, J&K achieved its highest voter turnout in 35 years, recording 58.46 percent” he added.
“We recently visited Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana to take stock of the election preparation. A great enthusiasm was seen among the people. They wanted to participate in the election process, he said, adding that this glimpse of hope and democracy shows that the people want to change the picture. They want to write their own destiny” the CEC said.
As per the ECI, the dates for issuing the gazette notification for the three phases election in J&K will be on August 20, August 29, and September 5 respectively. The last date for filing nominations will be August 27, September 05 and September 12 respectively.
In 2014, BJP won 25 seats, PDP 28, Congress 12, National Conference 15 and others 7.
There about 2.01 crore voters in Haryana, said the CEC.
Rajiv Kumar said there are about 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana. In 2019, BJP had won 40 seats while Congress 31.
Welcoming the announcement of the election in J&K, BJP incharge of Jammu and Kashmir Tarun Chugh said, “The BJP is a responsible political party and will positively participate in the polls. We will surely receive the public’s blessings”.
“Under the leadership of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jammu and Kashmir has become free of Article 370.
People have faith in Modi and J&K is moving forward” he said.
