Assembly polls in J&K to be held after Lok Sabha election: CEC Rajiv Kumar

The Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir will be held after the Lok Sabha polls as organising both simultaneously is not viable from the security point of view, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday as he announced the schedule of the general election and some Assembly and bypolls.

The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning from April 19 and the results will be announced on June 4.

Asked why Assembly polls are not being held in Jammu and Kashmir along with the Lok Sabha election, the CEC said forces have to be provided to every candidate in the Union Territory, which is not possible at a time when elections are being held across the country.

He also said the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was amended in December 2023 after a delimitation exercise and the clock had started ticking for the Election Commission (EC) since then.

"The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed in 2019. There was a provision for 107 seats, 24 of which were in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Then the delimitation commission came and there was a change in the seats.... The reorganisation Act and delimitation were not in sync. That happened in December 2023. So our meter started running from December 2023," Kumar said.

"All parties in Jammu and Kashmir said the Assembly election should be held with the parliamentary polls, but the entire administrative machinery said it cannot be done simultaneously. Every Assembly segment would have 10-12 candidates, which would mean more than 1,000 candidates. Every candidate has to be provided forces. It was not possible at this time," the CEC added.

"But we stand committed that as soon as these elections are over, we will hold elections there," he asserted.

People living in camps in violence-hit Manipur will be allowed to vote from their camps in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission added.

Responding to a question on Manipur during a press conference on the announcement of dates of the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said "we will make all arrangements."

"We have drawn a scheme, which we have notified... to allow the voters in the camp to vote from the camp. Like there is a scheme for Jammu and Kashmir migrants... same way the scheme will implemented in Manipur. Voters will be allowed to vote from the respective camps... from the lower constituency to higher and higher to lower," Kumar said.

"My appeal to the voters is that let us decide through the ballot, peacefully by participating in the elections, we will make the arrangements," he added.

Ethnic clashes between the Meitei and tribal Kuki communities in Manipur since May last year have resulted in the loss of over 200 lives.

According to officials, over 25,000 people have been rescued by the security forces while around 50,000 are living in camps following the unrest.