Srinagar: Kashmir will hold assembly elections in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, the Election Commission of India announced on Friday (August 16, 2024). These will be the first regional polls in a decade and come five years after the BJP-led government unilaterally scrapped the region’s special autonomy, Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
The decision to hold elections follows a December order by Supreme Court that rejected petitions challenging the revocation of Kashmir’s special status and set a deadline of September 30 for the elections.
“After a long gap, elections are due and will be held in Jammu and Kashmir,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told reporters in New Delhi on Friday.
Voting for the region’s assembly will be held in three stages between September 18 and October 1, with vote counting set for October 4, he said.
Before the Election Commission's announcement, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) amended the Transaction of Business Rules of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government, expanding the administrative powers of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir. The LG was granted greater authority over issues related to police, public order, and the All India Services (AIS), including their transfers and postings, which previously required the Finance Department's approval. Any decisions about prosecution sanctions or appeals must go to the LG through the Chief Secretary. This means that proposals related to prisons, the Directorate of Prosecution, and the Forensic Science Laboratory also need to be submitted to the LG through the same process.
The J&K Legislative Assembly will be able to make laws on matters in the State List, except for “Police” and “Public Order,” as well as items in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.
The Concurrent List covers a wide range of subjects, including education, marriages, taxes, property transfer, forests, trade unions, labor welfare, charitable organizations, and trade and commerce. This effectively means that the Assembly, once constituted, will not have authority over these matters.
Kashmir’s political parties denounced the amendments, stating that the assembly elections have been reduced to a municipality, with two former Chief Ministers likely to refrain from contesting.
Elections in Kashmir have been targeted by armed groups in the past and have also witnessed boycott calls and low voter turnout. However, the territory recorded its highest turnout of 58.46 percent in 35 years during parliamentary elections held in April and May this year. Many in the region saw voting as the only way to be heard against the New Delhi-run administration, but the Modi government stated that this reflected the faith of Kashmir’s voters in the democratic process.