Imminent Assembly Polls in J&K: EC Directs Officer Transfers

The Election Commission has directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to transfer officers posted in their home districts, indicating imminent assembly polls. Similar orders have been issued in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand. The upcoming elections will be J&K’s first since the abrogation of Article 370 and division into two Union Territories in 2019.

In a fresh indication that assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are imminent, the Election Commission has asked the Union Territory administration to transfer out officers posted in their home districts, an exercise it holds ahead of conducting elections.

The commission has been following a consistent policy that officers directly connected with the conduct of elections in a poll-bound state or Union Territory are not posted in their home districts or places where they have served for a considerably long period.

It has issued similar directions to the chief secretaries of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand.

The commission noted that the terms of the existing legislative assemblies of Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra end between November 2024 and January 2025, necessitating elections in these states within 2024.

The election to the legislative assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is also due soon.

The poll panel typically issues instructions related to transfers of officers ahead of Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Recently, it ordered the updation of electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir and the three states.

In June, the commission decided to accept applications from registered unrecognised parties in the Union Territory for allotment of 'common symbols'.

The upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be the first since the abrogation of Article 370 and the division of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories in 2019. The electoral exercise there usually spans a month.

Following a delimitation exercise, the number of assembly seats has increased from 83 to 90, excluding those allocated to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Last December, the Supreme Court directed the poll panel to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30.

(With inputs from agencies.)