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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  EC may delink assembly elections in four states
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EC may delink assembly elections in four states

Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkand, the other two states with elections coming up, may see polls in late December or early January

The tenure of the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly comes to an end on 8 November, while that of the 90-member Haryana house will end on 27 October. Photo: MintPremium
The tenure of the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly comes to an end on 8 November, while that of the 90-member Haryana house will end on 27 October. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: The coming Assembly elections in four states are being delinked, with Maharashtra and Haryana likely to go to polls first in the third week of October.

The other two states—Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand—may witness elections in late December-early January.

The Election Commission is working on the schedules and may announce the programme for Maharashtra and Haryana by the middle of September, people close to the matter said.

Hectic discussions are on between the commission and the Union home ministry on assessing the requirement of forces and their allocation. Sensitive constituencies are being identified so that adequate forces can be deployed to ensure free and fair polls without violence.

The tenure of the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly comes to an end on 8 November, while that of the 90-member Haryana house will end on 27 October.

The people mentioned earlier said the schedule is being worked in such a way that it would not clash with the current 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Maharashtra and the subsequent Navratri and Dussehra celebrations that end on 3 October.

The people said the commission hopes to complete the polls in the two states before Diwali, which falls on 24 October.

The elections are being delinked because of the need for paramilitary forces, especially for Jharkhand, which faces a Maoist insurgency, and in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the last elections, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed seven-phased polling, while in Jharkhand it was spread over five phases.

The revision of rolls in Jammu and Kashmir is currently on and is expected to be over by the first week of October. The cut-off date for eligibility in Jammu and Kashmir will be 1 October 2014.

The electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir have a special provision for four cut-off dates for revision—1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.

The election schedule in Maharashtra and Haryana is being planned in such a way that electioneering is avoided during festive seasons. Attempts to invoke religion could also be checked by this, the people mentioned earlier said.

The commission also wants to see that the period between the announcement of the election and completion of the process is not unduly long so that the process of governance is not affected.

Along with the announcement of the schedule, the Election Commission normally puts in place the model code of conduct, which puts limits on governments undertaking new schemes and projects and also taking policy decisions during the election period.

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Published: 31 Aug 2014, 02:43 PM IST
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