Counting of votes on October 4; CEC says Lok Sabha voter turnout was encouraging, but heavy security deployment expected for J&K’s first Assembly poll in 10 years; defends slew of transfers hours before poll date announcementThe first Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election in a decade will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, the Election Commission of India announced on Friday (August 16, 2024). This will also be the first Assembly poll in J&K since Article 370 was abrogated in 2019.“People in Jammu and Kashmir opted for ballots instead of bullet and boycott [during the recent Lok Sabha election]. The valley reached a new peak, witnessing a 30 point jump in poll participation from 2019,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said at a press conference to announce the poll dates, flanked by Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu.

Security deployment

Mr. Kumar noted that conducting the Assembly election in J&K requires considerable deployment of Central and State police forces to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections with fearless participation of voters, especially in vulnerable areas.

“Mobilisation, deployment and disengagement of these forces with minimum criss-cross movement and optimal utilisation involved complex planning and detailed analysis, carried out over several rounds of consultations with the senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs/[Central Armed Police Forces] CAPFs/Police Nodal Officers of the State/UT,” he added.