Srinagar, March 16: Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir could be held in June this year sources confirmed News agency Press Trust of Kashmir.
The Election Commission (EC) may announce the poll dates after the holy month of Ramzan is over and before the Amarnath Yatra begins on July 1. The ongoing spell of the President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir is due to get over on July 3. Assembly polls could be held in seven phases, higher than the five-phase Lok Sabha elections in the state.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration in its report and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in a written communication to EC, had suggested conducting the parliamentary elections first, immediately followed by the assembly polls. The state administration had also opposed simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections. It had suggested the EC consider factors such as Ramzan, tentatively timed from May 5 to June 4, and Amarnath Yatra while finalising dates for assembly polls.
According to a reports, the union home secretary, in a review meeting with EC on February 18, had also endorsed the Jammu and Kashmir government’s view of holding assembly polls in June. However, it was only on February 26 that the MHA formally wrote to EC, backing a June state poll immediately after the Lok Sabha elections, said the report. (PTK)