Assembly Elections 2024: Jammu and Kashmir will see its first assembly polls this year after a decade and the Election Commission is likely to announce the dates today at around 3 PM. Earlier the Supreme Court ordered the EC to conduct the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir before September.
Assembly polls have not been held in the valley since 2014. They were due to be held in early 2019 after the legislative body of the erstwhile state was dissolved in 2018.
However, following the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories in August 2019, polls could not be held due to several reasons, including a delimitation exercise that was completed in 2022. The apex Court, in December last year, directed the Centre to conclude the election process by September 30, 2024.
EC to announce schedule for Assembly elections at 3 pm today
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 16, 2024
Besides this, the EC is also likely to announce the schedule for assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. However, the media invite for the press conference did not mention the states for which the election schedule would be announced.
The terms of the legislative assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra end on November 3 and November 26, respectively. The poll panel also plans to hold assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir before September 30, the deadline set by the Supreme Court.
The Election Commission has recently visited Jammu, Kashmir, and Haryana to oversee poll preparedness but has yet to visit Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, earlier, President Droupadi Murmu appreciated the poll body, all officials, and security personnel who braved the heat, and helped in the successful completion of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
