Election Commission Planning J&K Visit, Polls Likely Before September 30: Sources

The Election Commission of India has indicated that Assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir before September 30, which is the deadline set by the Supreme Court. Sources say the full commission is likely to visit the Union Territory in the next 10 days.

The poll body has asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to transfer officials posted in their home districts as well as those connected with the election process who will be completing a three-year tenure on or before September 30.

Similar directions have been given to the chief secretaries of Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, where elections are due later this year.

In the case of Haryana, the EC has asked for the transfer of officials who complete three years on or before October 31, for Maharashtra, the date is November 30, and it is December 31 for Jharkhand.

Jammu and Kashmir has been without an elected government for over six years and the last Assembly elections were held in December 2014.

Next week, Jammu and Kashmir will also complete five years as a Union Territory. On August 5, 2019, the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories and its special status under Article 370 was removed. Since then, Jammu and Kashmir has been administered by the lieutenant governor.

The Centre has also recently amended the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, giving sweeping powers to the lieutenant governor in the Union Territory. The amendments are in line with the Delhi Union Territory model, where the elected government has little authority over bureaucracy and many powers are vested in the Lieutenant Governor.

Opposition parties have reacted strongly to the Centre's move and termed it "anti-democratic". They allege that giving sweeping powers to the LG will make the elected government a rubber stamp.

During his visit to Srinagar in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that Assembly elections would be held in Jammu and Kashmir soon and statehood would also be restored.