Stage set for polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana; results on October 4
This is the first assembly polls in J-K since a controversial delimitation exercise earmarked 47 assembly seats for Kashmir and 43 for Jammu in its final order
Roughly 29 million people in Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana will vote in assembly polls held between September 18 and October 1, the election commission of India (ECI) announced on Friday, laying the stage for the first major democratic contest since the general elections three months ago.
The first assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir in a decade will be held in three phases on September 18 and 25, and October 1. This is also the first assembly polls in the restive region since its special status and statehood were scrapped five years ago and is likely to be the last step before the Union territory’s statehood is restored.
Elections in Haryana will be held in a single phase on October 1. The votes for both elections will be counted on October 4.
“The long queues at the polling booth in J&K during the Lok Sabha elections are proof that people not only want change but also want to raise their voices by becoming a part of that change,” chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar said. He was referring to a historic turnout of 58.46% in the region during the general elections.
“This glimpse of hope and democracy shows that the people want to change the picture. They want to write their own destiny.”
The announcement came hours after a major police reshuffle in J&K, which has been convulsed by mounting terror attacks in the Jammu region. A month ago, the Union government also widened the scope of the lieutenant governor’s (LG) powers, in what is likely to be a significant poll issue.
There are a total of 90 assembly constituencies in J&K, of which 74 are general, nine are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and seven for Scheduled Castes. ECI said it will set up 11,838 polling booths, with three floating on the Dal Lake.
“We recently visited Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana to take stock of the election preparation in these places. A great enthusiasm was seen among the people…they chose ballot over bullet in Lok Sabha elections,” Kumar added. “People want elections to be conducted there as early as possible.”
Last year, the Supreme Court upheld the abrogation of Article 370 but fixed a deadline of September 30 for assembly elections to be held in the region. Though the poll calendar breached this deadline, Kumar defended the schedule citing security concerns.
In Haryana, the announcement came months after surprising Lok Sabha results showed the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress locked in a neck-and-neck fight. The 90-member assembly has 73 general seats and 17 reserved for the scheduled castes. Kumar said ECI will fight to reverse urban voting apathy by setting up polling booths in high-rises.
“In Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonipat, many polling stations have been shifted to high-rise societies so that congestion is reduced and also polling percentage increases. This is one way of handling urban apathy in elections,” Kumar said. “Some stations will also be set up in slum areas,” he added. In all, 20,629 polling booths will be set up.
This is the first assembly polls in the Jammu & Kashmir since a controversial delimitation exercise earmarked 47 assembly seats for Kashmir and 43 for Jammu in its final order. The panel gave Jammu six additional seats and Kashmir one, sparking allegations from the Opposition that the balance was tilting in favour of Hindu-majority Jammu. The panel also reserved nine seats for scheduled tribes, a first, renamed some assembly constituencies, and redrew some others.
In 2014, the Peoples Democratic Party emerged as the single-largest party with 28 seats and formed an alliance of ideological extremes with the BJP, which had 25 seats. But the coalition collapsed early in 2018 after the BJP withdrew support and Governor’s Rule was imposed in June that year in controversial circumstances. On August 5, 2019, the Union government revoked Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the erstwhile region.
“I welcome the announcement of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir…In the last 10 years, the Modi government through a series of relentless initiatives has created a new era of peace, development and strengthening democracy in J-K,” Union home minister Amit Shah, whose ministry oversees the LG in the region, said on X.
Mainstream parties in J&K welcomed the announcement but sounded caution on LG Manoj Sinha’s recent expansion of powers. “We are ready for the polls…Now people will come out in large numbers to participate in the elections,” said former chief minister and National Conference patriarch Farooq Abdullah. Though part of the wider Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, the Congress, PDP and NC are likely to fight the elections individually.
Among ordinary people, the mood was more sombre as many people said the restoration of statehood was the main issue for them. “If we don’t get statehood back, it’s completely a whitewash. The people will come out to vote in big numbers in Kashmir as they want their basic rights back which has been promised to them,” said Mudasir Naqshbandi, a lawyer in Srinagar.
The schedule was announced a month after the Union government widened the scope of the Centre-appointed LG’s powers – from police and public order to postings and prosecution sanctions. The Opposition alleges that this has left the elected government with nominal powers over sectors such as education and culture.
The polls are likely to revolve around issues of statehood, Kashmiri identity, the impact of Article 370’s abrogation and the spike in terror in Jammu, as well as everyday developmental and civic issues.
“Security scenario has deteriorated across Jammu since June this year …Now, we have to see how the government and forces deal with the terrorists,” said Sumit Raina, a Jammu resident.
This year, 13 security personnel and 11 civilians have died in separate extremist attacks in Jammu, with security forces gunning down six terrorists in the region. In Kashmir, five personnel and seven civilians have died in terror attacks this year. Security forces have killed 21 terrorists in the Valley in the same period.
In Haryana, the polls will be held months after the ruling BJP, which has been in power in the state since 2014, and Congress won five Lok Sabha seats each. This was the first time in a decade that the BJP didn’t sweep the state.
In 2019, the BJP won 40 of the 90 seats and formed the government in alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which won 10. The Congress won 31 seats. But earlier this year, the ruling coalition collapsed after the JJP abruptly withdrew support, prompting the BJP to change its chief minister from Manohar Lal Khattar to Nayab Singh Saini. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, both part of the INDIA bloc, are likely to fight the elections alone.
The elections are likely to be fought on a host of issues ranging from anti-incumbency against the BJP government to discontent around the government’s short-service armed services recruitment scheme, Agnipath. Protests by India’s top wrestlers against sexual harassment and caste fault lines are likely to be other issues.
“I welcome the announcement and our workers are already preparing to contest the elections. And of course, just like the government has been formed at the Centre under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, in the same way, the BJP will form the government for the third time in Haryana,” Khattar said.
The Congress, which only rules three states on its own and is looking to win in Haryana, projected confidence. “We are ready and the people of Haryana are also ready,” said former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
In 2019, Haryana went to the polls along with Maharashtra but ECI cited security concerns for the staggered schedule.
“Earlier Maharashtra and Haryana happened together. … At that time, Jammu & Kashmir was not a factor so one could have gone a little later. This time there are four elections this year and fifth just immediately afterwards — Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi. So depending on the requirement of forces which are … in a higher tone in Jammu & Kashmir, we decided to hold elections in two states at a time. We cannot announce another [election] in the middle of the Jammu and Kashmir elections,” Kumar said.
But the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra alleged that the state polls were delayed to allow the Centre to announce sops for Maharashtra, a state where the National Democratic Alliance performed poorly in the 2024 elections. “Seems like the EC is giving them breathing time to allow their contractors to loot our state,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said.