The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections are likely to be held in the second half of November, probably spread over seven phases, to enable the next government to take over by January 19, official sources indicated here.
The full Election Commission visited Srinagar last Saturday to review the ground situation.
An announcement could come soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Srinagar on Diwali. The Prime Minister tweeted: “Will be in Srinagar on Diwali, 23d October & will spend the day with our sisters & brothers affected by the unfortunate floods.”
This will be Mr. Modi’s fourth trip to the State since he took over as the Prime Minister in May.
According to EC rules, a minimum of 25 days is mandatory between notification of elections and polling day.
The EC is believed to have decided on holding elections on time even though the National Conference government has been repeatedly demanding its postponement, as it will slow down the rehabilitation work. Three other major parties in the State, People’s Democratic Party, the Congress and the BJP have been pushing for holding elections on time, stressing that rehabilitation work can continue alongside.
Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath had indicated as much when he told journalists in Srinagar on October 18 that the poll process would not interfere with relief and rehabilitation work, even though he added that the Commission would hold consultations before deciding the schedule for the elections.
The BJP, which has 11 MLAs in the current Assembly, is pushing to try and make a breakthrough in the Valley as well. The NC, political sources say, is clearly on its way out – it had won 28 seats last time and formed a government with the Congress which had won 17 seats. But with the alliance broken, the elections will see a four-way contest.
Till the floods took place, the PDP looked poised to replace the NC as the single largest party, but political sources say that if the NC government’s handling of the floods was found wanting by the people, so did the PDP’s response. The Congress, in any case, is on the backfoot. The Valley may see very low polling, as there isn’t that much enthusiasm for the BJP there.
