The Election Commission (EC) on Friday announced that it has initiated process of updation of electoral rolls in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, & Jammu & Kashmir.
According to THE EC, July 1, 2024 will be the qualifying date for roll updation. For the just-held Lok Sabha polls, voters' list was updated with January 1 as the qualifying date. Qualifying date helps establish number of voters on a given date in a State or in the country.
The Assembly terms of Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand are going to end on November 3, November 26 and January 5, 2025 respectively while polls in Jammu & Kashmir now under President rule, must be completed by September 30 deadline set by Supreme Court.
The last time Jammu & Kashmir voted in Assembly elections was in 2014 when it was still a State and enjoyed special status under Article 370.
In 2019, Special status to the State was revoked and it was divided into two UTs — Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The UT has been awaiting Assembly elections since then.
The stakes are high for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming assembly polls in these four states, which is considered as a litmus test for his popularity after the Lok Sabha polls.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also said on Thursday that assembly elections would be held soon in Jammu and Kashmir and plans are underway to restore statehood to the Union Territory in the near future. In his first visit to the valley after becoming the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term, Modi emphasised the importance of enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to elect their representatives for the assembly. "Witnessing the huge participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Commission has also directed for the updation of electoral rolls in the UT with July 1, 2024 as the qualifying date," the poll authority said.
In a statement, issued on Friday, the EC said that after the successful completion of the Lok Sabha elections, it has initiated preparations for Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand along with the process to update electoral rolls in these states with July 1, 2024 as the qualifying date.
The publication of the final electoral roll will be done by August 20 in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the poll panel. In an indication that assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are imminent, the Election Commission had on June 7 said it has decided to accept applications seeking allotment of 'common symbols' from registered unrecognised parties in the Union Territory with immediate effect. An official had explained that under Para 10 B of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968, any registered unrecognised political party can apply for a 'common symbol' six months prior to the end of the term of a House. But since no assembly is functional in Jammu and Kashmir, the EC has issued a press statement inviting applications for symbols. While recognised national and state parties have their 'reserved symbols', registered unrecognised parties have to apply for one to field candidates. When free symbols are allocated to unrecognised parties, the returning officer allocates the remaining unclaimed symbols to Independents "on the spot".
Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest voter turnout in a Lok Sabha poll in last 35 years, with the Kashmir Valley witnessing a "massive" 30 points jump in poll participation compared to 2019. The combined voter turnout at the polling stations for the entire Union Territory with five Lok Sabha seats was 58.46 per cent.
The three seats in the Valley - Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri - recorded turnout of 38.49 per cent, 59.1 per cent and 54.84 per cent, respectively, which has been the highest in last three decades. The other two seats in the UT - Udhampur and Jammu - recorded 68.27 per cent and 72.22 per cent voter turnout, respectively.
