Suspense continues over assembly elections in J&K [details]

Suspense continues over maiden assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as the Election Commission of Monday said that polls in UT will be held at the "appropriate time".

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said that the polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held when the Commission deems it the "right time" keeping in mind the security situation and other polls being held in the Union Territory.

Replying to questions after his press conference on the preparedness and dates for assembly election in five states, Rajiv Kumar said that the security situation will be taken into account before conducting polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The decision to be taken at the right time as per the security situation and other simultaneous elections in Jammu and Kashmir," the CEC said.

Notably in February this year, Home Minister Amit Shah had stated that the call on the date and timing of polls will be taken by the Election Commission of India.

The exercise of special summary revision-2022 culminated with the publication of the final electoral rolls in the UT on November 25, 2022.

The process of continuous upgradation is going on as any eligible citizen who has been left out of the electoral roll can apply through any of the modes of registration, i.e. Online through the NVSP portal, Voter Helpline APP, Voter Portal, or Offline by making an application to the ERO concerned.

The completion of the exercise will pave the way for holding elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This would be the first election in the UT after the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of J&K into two Union Territories by the BJP-led NDA government in August 2019.

Opposition parties submitted a memorandum to ECI in March this year

In March this year opposition parties had submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India, seeking early assembly polls in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The signatories of the memorandum include National Conference president Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and other senior leaders of national political parties.

It was mentioned in the memorandum that Jammu and Kashmir has been without a legislative assembly and an elected government for the last five years.

It was further demanded in the memorandum that the Election Commission of India is under a constitutional obligation to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and delay in and denial of assembly elections would amount to a denial of fundamental and democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and a breach of constitutional obligations.

Jammu and Kashmir has been without an elected government since June 2018 when BJP dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) followed by the resignation of the then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Five months later, on November 28, 2018, then Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the legislative assembly minutes after Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP staked a claim to form the government with the support of Congress and the National Conference.

A month later on December 19, 2018, then President Ram Nath Kovind issued a proclamation promulgating President's Rule in J&K under article 356 of the Constitution of India.

Eight months later on August 5, 2019, the BJP government abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.