Assembly election in J&K will be held for the first time since special status was scrapped
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly election will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, the Election Commission announced today. The Haryana assembly election will be held on October 1, the EC said. Votes will be counted for both on October 4, it said.
The assembly election will be held in Jammu and Kashmir over five years after the Centre divided the erstwhile state into two Union Territories - the other is Ladakh - and scrapped special status under Article 370 of the Constitution.
The Opposition that had objected to the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status have been demanding for the election to be held. The Supreme Court in December 2023 had directed the EC to hold the assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30 this year.
While it was in effect, Article 370 gave Jammu and Kashmir its own Constitution and decision-making rights for all matters barring defence, communications and foreign affairs.
The last assembly election was held in Jammu and Kashmir in November-December 2014.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the main regions that will vote in the second phase include Srinagar, Ganderbal, Poonch, Rajouri, and Reasi. The final phase will see people in north Kashmir, Udhampur, Jammu, and Kathua cast their vote.