An Election Commission of India (ECI) team, under the leadership of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, will visit Jammu and Kashmir between August 8 and 10, News18 has learnt.
Earlier this week, the EC wrote to the Chief Secretary and Chief Electoral Officer of the Union Territory that “polls to the legislative assembly of UT of J&K are due in the near future” and asked them to transfer officers by August 20 in case they are directly connected with elections and posted in their own district.
“The Election Commission led by CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and SS Sandhu are going to visit J&K from August 8-10, to review the preparedness for the conduct of upcoming assembly elections in the UT,” sources told News18.
News18 has learnt that the period between August and September is being considered for holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir, though the poll body is yet to officially comment on the same.
This year, the annual Amarnath Yatra in the UT is scheduled between June 29 and August 19. Due to security reasons, elections will not take place during this period. Further, the Supreme Court has given a deadline of September 30 to the poll body to complete polls.
In Srinagar, the commission will first meet political parties and then hold a review with the Chief Electoral Officer, State Police Nodal Officer (SPNO), and Central Forces coordinator.
The commission will also review the preparations with DEOs and SPs from all districts and the Chief Secretary and DGP.
“On August 10, the commission will visit Jammu for a review meeting with enforcement agencies. It will hold a press conference in Jammu to brief the media on the review of election preparations,” sources added.
In March 2024, the CEC visited the Union Territory before the announcement of Lok Sabha elections.
During the visit and even in June, after the completion of Lok Sabha polls, the CEC had assured the political parties and people of Jammu & Kashmir that the commission would soon hold the assembly elections there.
The Union Territory had reported a huge turnout in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. “This active participation is a huge positive for assembly elections to be held soon so that the democratic process continues to thrive in the Union Territory,” Kumar had said in June.
In June, the poll body also started accepting applications from political parties for the use of common symbols for their candidates — one of the first steps for elections in the UT.
It is important to note that the last elections in the erstwhile state took place in November-December 2014. In November 2018, the assembly was dissolved, and in 2019, the process of splitting the state into two UTs, J&K and Ladakh, started.
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