The Election Commission of India (ECI) stated on Monday that elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held at the right time, taking into consideration the security situation and other scheduled elections.
Chief Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar, made this announcement while responding to queries about the upcoming elections in five states."We will inform about holding Assembly polls in J&K at the right time, considering the security situation and other elections that are also due in the Union Territory (UT)," he said.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under Central rule since June 2018 following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition.
The BJP abrogated Article 370 and divided Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh—on August 5, 2019. On the same day, Home Minister Amit Shah stated in Parliament that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir after the completion of the delimitation exercise and elections.
Delimitation and revision of electoral rolls have been completed, but the elections continue to be postponed for the former state. The last Assembly elections in J&K were held in 2014. Political parties, including the National Conference, Congress, PDP, and J&K Apni Party, have been demanding the calling for elections in the UT and restoration of statehood. They blame the BJP for the delay in holding assembly polls and allege that the party is nervous about contesting the elections.
There is resentment among people in both the regions of Jammu and Kashmir about the absence of a political agency and democracy. The opposition parties have called for a protest on October 10 in Jammu against the "snatching of constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir."
The decision to protest was made after a meeting of the opposition parties in Jammu, which was presided over by NC leader and MP Farooq Abdullah.
