Election Commission will take a decision on the poll dates after considering all aspects, said OP Rawat
The Jammu and Kashmir election can be held before May and possibly before the national polls, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat today said, a day after the state's governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the assembly.
"The Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls must be held on the first occasion before May. It can be held before parliament elections also," Mr Rawat told NDTV.
Pointing out that the "outer limit" set by the Supreme Court for an election after the dissolution of the assembly is six months, the election chief said the commission will decide on poll dates after "considering all aspects."
He referred to Telangana, which is also voting to elect a new government after the assembly was dissolved in September, in a move by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao to bring forward polls in the state.
The state Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the assembly on Wednesday evening, after People's Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti staked claim to form government along with her arch-rival Omar Abdullah's National Conference (NC) and the Congress.They claimed the support of 56 lawmakers in the 87-member state assembly. Shortly after, People's Conference leader Sajad Lone also staked claims to form the government. Mr Lone, who has two lawmakers, said he had the support of the BJP's 25 legislators and "more than 18" others.
The Governor told NDTV he had decided not to allow any government based on defections or loose arrangements. "The impossibility of forming a stable government by the coming together of political parties with opposing political ideologies including some which have been demanding dissolution of the Assembly; whereas the experience of the past few years shows that with the fractured mandate that is there in the Assembly, it is not possible to form a stable government comprising of like-minded parties," his statement last night said.
The Governor's decision is open to legal challenge, say some experts.
They claimed the support of 56 lawmakers in the 87-member state assembly. Shortly after, the People's Conference led by Sajad Lone too staked claims to form the government. Mr Lone's party said they had the support of the BJP's 25 legislators and "more than 18" others are willing to support them.
In a statement announcing the dissolution of the assembly, the Governor had said: "The impossibility of forming a stable government by the coming together of political parties with opposing political ideologies including some which have been demanding dissolution of the Assembly; whereas the experience of the past few years shows that with the fractured mandate that is there in the Assembly, it is not possible to form a stable government comprising of like-minded parties."
The decision by the state Governor under Jammu and Kashmir could be challenged in court in the coming days.