Assembly Elections 2024: The Election Commission of India (ECI) will announce the poll dates for several key states today. The assembly elections are due in Maharashtra and Haryana, with the terms of their legislative assemblies set to end on November 26 and November 3, respectively. Additionally, the ECI is likely to announce the schedule for conducting assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) before September 30, a deadline imposed by the Supreme Court.
The Election Commission recently conducted visits to Jammu, Kashmir, and Haryana to assess poll preparedness. However, a visit to Maharashtra is still pending.
Jammu and Kashmir, poised to hold its first assembly elections in over a decade, could see the announcement of poll dates today. However, a tweet from the ECI regarding today's press conference did not specify which states would be included in the announcement.
Jammu and Kashmir have been under central government rule for over six years, following the collapse of the PDP-BJP government in 2018. The region has seen heightened anticipation for the restoration of its legislative assembly. The assembly elections, if announced today, will mark a significant moment for Jammu and Kashmir, as the last assembly elections in the region were held in 2014. The legislative assembly was dissolved in 2018, and subsequent developments, including the bifurcation of the state into Union territories in 2019 and a delimitation exercise completed in 2022, have delayed the electoral process. The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the Election Commission to complete the election process in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024.
Earlier on Sunday, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that the EC has the exclusive right to decide the schedule for Assembly elections in the Union Territory.
However, he expressed hope that the democratic exercise would be conducted soon in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been under central government rule for over six years after the fall of the PDP-BJP government in 2018.