NEW DELHI: After a prolonged delay, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The assembly polls, set to be conducted in three phases, will be held after a decade-long hiatus.
The polls will be conducted in three phases, spanning from mid-September to early October 2024. The counting of votes will take place on October 4, 2024.
The first phase of voting is set for September 18, followed by the second phase on September 25, and concluding with the third phase on October 1. This staggered schedule allows for adequate preparation and security arrangements between each voting phase, the Election Commission said.
The election will cover all 90 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, with a total electorate of 87.09 lakh voters, including a significant female voter base of 42.6 lakh.
For Phase I, candidates must file their nominations by August 27, with August 30 as the last date for withdrawal. The second phase lists nomination and withdrawal deadlines of September 5 and September 9, respectively. The final phase allows nominations until September 12, with September 17 as the cut-off dates for withdrawals.
The official gazette notification for the first phase of elections will be issued on September 9, 2024.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, while announcing the schedule, emphasized the historical importance of these elections. “Elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir after a long time,” Kumar stated, addressing the press. He assured that the Commission would implement robust security measures for all candidates, responding to concerns raised by various political parties.
The last assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in 2014, which witnessed the historic partnership between the ideologically opposed BJP and PDP for sharing power, termed the meeting of the North Pole and the South Pole. The political landscape changed dramatically in June 2018 when the BJP unceremoniously withdrew support from the PDP-led coalition government, leading to the imposition of central rule.
The abrogation of Article 370 further complicated the situation in August 2019 and the subsequent bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
In December 2023, the Supreme Court intervened, directing the central government to conclude the election process by September 30, 2024.
On August 14, the Election Commission held a meeting with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir represent a significant milestone, marking several unprecedented changes in the region’s political landscape.
The most profound shift is the territory’s new status as a Union Territory, a transition that occurred in August 2019. This will be the first time voters in Jammu and Kashmir go to the polls to elect representatives for a Union Territory legislature rather than a state assembly.
The recent changes to the administrative structure of Jammu and Kashmir provide an important backdrop to the upcoming assembly elections. On July 12, 2024, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued an executive notification that significantly expanded the powers of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir by amending the Transaction of Business Rules.
This amendment grants the LG greater control over key administrative functions. Notably, the LG now has the final authority on matters related to the All India Services, which includes senior bureaucrats serving in the Union Territory. Additionally, several crucial departments and agencies have been placed directly under the LG’s purview, including the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Prisons, and the Jammu and Kashmir Forensic Science Laboratory.
The new rules also give the LG a more prominent role in legal matters. The LG now has the final say in appointing the Advocate General and other law officers. Moreover, the government must obtain the LG’s approval before granting or refusing prosecution sanctions or filing appeals in legal cases.
These changes represent a significant shift in the balance of power between the elected government and the centrally-appointed LG.
These elections will be the first to take place after the watering down of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. This fundamentally altered the constitutional relationship between the region and the rest of India.
Both these factors are likely to reshape political narratives, and strategies of political parties and influence voter choices significantly.
Equally significantly, this is the first time Jammu and Kashmir will go to polls in the absence of Ladakh. Previously part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh is now a separate Union Territory without a legislature.
The recent delimitation exercise has also altered the electoral map, which was criticized by most political parties as a process of gerrymandering. The electoral boundaries were drastically reshaped and a new distribution of seats gave six extra seats to Jammu and one to Kashmir province. Opposition parties had criticized the delimitation process and said it was aimed to aid and help the BJP.
Transfers and Postings Before Announcement
On August 15, the General Administration Department of Jammu and Kashmir issued orders for 89 transfers and posting with immediate effect. Apart from these several officers from various AGMUT cadres and the Jammu and Kashmir Police Service (JKPS) were also posted.
According to some reports, a total of 200 officers have been transferred including the appointment of IPS Nalin Prabhat as Special Director General of Police.
There were conflicting reports about whether the present DGP, R.R. Swain who retires on September 30 will immediately be relieved and pass on the baton to Prabhat or whether Prabhat will take over as a full-fledged DGP on October 1, after Swain’s retirement.
The EC had on July 31 asked the Union Territory administration to transfer officers posted in their home districts, an exercise it holds before conducting elections, giving rise to speculations about holding the polls.
The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah reacted to the ECI announcement on elections on X handle
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