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The Election Commission has announced assembly polls in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, marking the first major political battle following the Lok Sabha elections. The Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are particularly significant as they will be held for the first time in a decade and after the scrapping of the region's special status.
Jammu and Kashmir will vote in three phases starting from September 18, while polls to elect 90 members of the Haryana Legislative Assembly will be held in a single phase on October 1. The announcement came after officials from the central poll body visited both states recently to oversee election preparations.
Counting of votes for both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana will take place on October 4.
The term of the Haryana Assembly ends in November this year, while the Supreme Court has set a deadline of September 30, 2024, for conducting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
This will be Jammu and Kashmir’s first election to the 90-member Assembly since the territory's special status was revoked and its statehood withdrawn in August 2019. The last assembly elections in the northernmost state were held in November-December 2014. The BJP and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) formed a coalition government, with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed becoming the Chief Minister. After Sayeed's death in January 2016, Mehbooba Mufti succeeded him as Chief Minister following a brief period of governor’s rule.
In June 2018, the BJP withdrew its support for the PDP-led government, leading to the dissolution of the state assembly by then-Governor Satya Pal Malik in November that year. Since then, the state has not had an Assembly.
In December 2019, while hearing petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024, and also urged the central government to restore the statehood as soon as possible.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference and the BJP won two seats each, with an Independent, Abdul Rashid Sheikh (Engineer Rashid), also winning a seat. Farooq Abdullah, ahead of the election announcement, stated that he would contest the upcoming election and expressed confidence in securing a majority on his own. Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP, which performed poorly in the Lok Sabha polls, is aiming for a comeback in the assembly elections.
Congress, intending to field candidates in all 90 seats, is expected to focus on Jammu, where it has better support and organisational structure compared to Kashmir, where regional parties are strong. The BJP has also intensified its election preparations, aiming high in the Himalayan state.
Five-way battle likely in Haryana
In Haryana, where the term of the current BJP government will end in November, a five-way contest is expected between the BJP, Congress, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), INLD and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
After the 2019 elections, the BJP, with 40 seats in the 90-member assembly, formed a coalition government with the JJP of Dushyant Chautala, which had won 10 seats, with BJP’s Manohar Lal Khattar serving as Chief Minister. The Congress had won 31 seats.
The BJP and JJP ended their alliance this year, leading to Khattar’s resignation and Naib Saini of the BJP taking charge.
While the BJP is trying to bounce back after the Lok Sabha elections and the alliance setbacks, the Congress is upbeat following their recent victory. However, the grand old party is facing several factional disputes within its state unit. Meanwhile, AAP, buoyed by increased enthusiasm among party workers following the release of Manish Sisodia, has begun preparing for significant gains.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP, which had won all 10 seats in 2019, retained half of them and lost the other five seats to the Congress.
Election Commission on Maharashtra assembly elections
While announcing the dates for assembly elections for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, the Election Commission said that polls in Maharashtra have been deferred due to several reasons, including availability and movement of security forces and the ongoing monsoon in the state.
As per the poll body, electoral process for Maharashtra and Haryana was initially planned together. However, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which now has statehood, introduced additional complexities.
The Commission further explained that the ongoing monsoon season in Maharashtra has caused delays in updating the voter list, a crucial step in the electoral process. The state is also currently observing important cultural and religious events, including Pitru Paksha, Diwali, and Ganesh Chaturthi, which necessitate the postponement of elections.
