Srinagar: The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar declared on Saturday that assembly elections for the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir will take place after the Lok Sabha elections. He cited security concerns, stating that providing security to each candidate during elections in the UT is challenging.

The Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats will be conducted in seven phases starting from April 19th, with results announced on June 4th. In Jammu and Kashmir UT, polls for 5 Parliamentary constituencies will be held in five phases, with each phase featuring voting in one Lok Sabha constituency:

Phase 1, April 19th: Udhampur
Phase 2, April 26th: Jammu
Phase 3, May 7th: Anantnag-Rajouri
Phase 4, May 13th: Srinagar
Phase 5, May 20th: Baramulla
Explaining the delay in assembly polls, the CEC mentioned the logistical challenge of providing security to candidates. He stated that the timeline for holding elections in J&K UT began in December 2023 when the Reorganisation Act and delimitation process aligned.

Despite political parties in Jammu and Kashmir expressing a desire for simultaneous assembly and parliamentary elections, logistical constraints regarding security made it unfeasible. Each assembly segment would have multiple candidates, necessitating security arrangements for over 1,000 candidates, which was deemed unattainable at the time.

The Election Commission reiterated its commitment to conducting elections in J&K UT promptly after the conclusion of the ongoing parliamentary elections. The CEC emphasized that despite perennial threats of terrorism, the Election Commission remains dedicated to upholding the democratic process in the region, even in the face of external provocations aimed at destabilizing the region.

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