J&K To Vote In 5 Phases As CEC Rules Out Simultaneous LS And Assembly Polls, Farooq Questions Decision

Polling for Jammu and Kashmir would be held across five phases, with Udhampur going first on April 19.

New Delhi: In the first major electoral exercise in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, polling for the Lok Sabha seats in the Union Territory would be held across five phases. The erstwhile state, which was split into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — in light of the rollback of certain constitutional privileges in the region under Article 370, sends five members to the Lower House of Parliament from Udhampur, Jammu, Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramulla.

Accounting the roster for the seven-phased elections to the Lok Sabha at a press conference in the national capital on Saturday, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said polling for Jammu and Kashmir would be held across five phases, with Udhampur going first on April 19. The polling for the constituency will be notified on March 20 with the last date for filing nominations scheduled for March 27. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is March 30.

Jammu will go to polls on April 26 and the polling will be notified on March 28. The last date for filing nomination is April 4 and candidates could withdraw nomination on April 8.

Voting for Anantnag-Rajouri will be held on May 7 and polling will be notified on April 12. The last date for filing nomination is April 19 and candidates could withdraw nomination till April 22.

In Srinagar, polling will be held on May 13 and will be notified on April 18. The last date for filing nomination is April 25 and candidates could withdraw nomination till April 29.

Further Baramulla will poll for Lok Sabha on May 20 and polling will be notified on April 26. The last date for filing nomination is May 3 and candidates could withdraw nomination till May 6.

Explaining the rationale behind not conducting the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir simultaneously, the CEC said, “During our recent visit to Srinagar and Jammu, the Jammu and Kashmir administration informed us that two elections can't be held at the same time as the need for additional security deployments cannot be met. The administration told us that there will be roughly 10 to 12 candidates for each assembly segment which would mean that there will be around 1,000 candidates in fray. This means each candidate needs to be given proper security cover and for that, there is requirement for additional forces. The Commission is committed to holding Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir soon after Lok Sabha polls when additional forces will be available.”

Meanwhile, reacting to the polling schedule for the region, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said, “The Centre is pushing for ‘One Nation, One Election’ and simultaneous polling for Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies have been announced for four states. So why then has Jammu and Kashmir been left out? When every party wanted simultaneous elections in Jammu and Kashmir, why is it that we have been denied? If they are citing security reasons, how is that security is adequate for the parliamentary elections and not for the state polls?”