Jammu and Kashmir Election 2024: Dates likely to be finalised soon, EC mulls phase-wise polling

The Lok Sabha elections in 2024 were peacefully conducted in five phases with the voter turnout highest in 35 years. (File Photo: PTI)

The Election Commission of India may soon end the suspense over conducting elections in Jammu and Kashmir. According to a report by the Economic Times, the Election Commission of India has received a report from the Jammu and Kashmir administration and security agencies regarding options on holding polls.

A three-member delegation of the ECI visited Srinagar from August 8-10 and reviewed the security preparedness for the conduct of polls. On Friday, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that the time has come for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to get an elected government through Assembly elections.

"The time has come to take forward the dreams of democracy you people have seen and shown us by turning up in large numbers and standing in long queues at polling stations during the recent Lok Sabha elections, and to give you an elected government through (assembly) elections," he said in Jammu.

The Election Commission is learnt to be considering the option of holding the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections in 4-5 phases, ET reported. The restive region of north Kashmir may be the first to go to polls followed by south Kashmir, central Kashmir and Jammu, respectively.

The ECI is expected to hold a meeting on holding the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir with the Ministry of Home Affairs by the end of this week. The meeting will delve into a review of the current security scenario and the challenges, if any, in conducting the elections.

It is after this meeting that the ECI may arrive at its final decision on holding polls in the erstwhile state. Notably, during his briefing to the media in Jammu last week, EC officials remained tight-lipped about the timeframe in which it plans to conclude the polls. The Supreme Court has ordered the ECI to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir by the end of September.

As per the Election Commission, conducting polls in north Kashmir could pose significant challenges for the poll panel given its history of unrest. While districts like Anantnag, Baramullah, Budgam, Bandipore, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam, Shopian, Pulwama and Srinagar are the sensitive districts in north Kashmir, Kathua, Samba, Riyasi, Jammu and Udhampur are the sensitive zones in the south.

Notably, the Lok Sabha elections this year were conducted peacefully in five phases with the final voter turnout recorded at 58.46 per cent, the highest in 35 years. In 2014, the year Assembly elections were last held in Jammu and Kashmir, polling was held in five phases.