The Election Commission (EC) has kicked off preparations for holding Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir by updating electoral rolls in these States.
The terms of the existing legislative Assemblies will end on November 3 (Haryana), November 26 (Maharashtra) and January 5, 2025 (Jharkhand) and polls are required to be conducted before the completion of their terms.
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are also to be conducted for constituting a new House after delimitation of constituencies, the EC said in a statement on Friday.
“Witnessing the huge participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the commission has also directed for updating electoral rolls in the union territory with July 1, 2024 as the qualifying date,” the statement said.
In December last year, the Supreme Court had directed the poll body to hold Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30.
Modi’s stand
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said Assembly polls would be held soon in Jammu and Kashmir and plans were also afoot to restore statehood to the union territory.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said recently that the poll body would soon initiate the process of holding Assembly polls in the union territory after witnessing the enthusiastic response during the Lok Sabha polls.
It will be the first Assembly polls since the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.
The poll body said July 1, 2024 would be the qualifying date for electoral rolls update. January 1 had been the qualifying date for the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.
Pre-update activities will begin from June 25 to set up or rationalise polling stations at locations most convenient to electors in group housing societies, slums, city outgrowths and rural areas.
The final electoral rolls will be published on August 20.
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