Back in 2014, the Election Commission of India (ECI) completed the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls on Sunday, October 19, and announced the next Saturday, October 25, for Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Jammu and Kashmir polling schedule. While status pairings will change, a similar approach is likely to happen this time around.
Unlike 2009, 2014 or 2019, the assembly poll schedule in Haryana and Maharashtra will be different. Haryana will contest the elections this time along with Jammu and Kashmir, according to the schedule released by pollsters on Friday.
News18 understands that the main reason for the two states to vote separately is that there is more than four weeks between the end of their parliamentary terms. The poll body is likely to announce the Maharashtra election schedule in October after completing elections in J&K and Haryana in the same month.
An Election Commission official speaking to News18 on condition of anonymity explained that the term of the Haryana Assembly will end on November 3. Finished in Bang a few days before the end.
“So, to complete the Haryana elections by November 3, the announcement has to be made around the end of September, while the J&K elections are underway,” the official said.
Even Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said in his speech that the ECI “cannot declare another election while polling in J&K is ongoing”.
It's better for pollsters to combine the two elections together to make their work easier. Speaking to News18, the official also explained that elections in a state can be held anytime between six months before and six months after the expiry date of the existing assembly. However, in most cases, the ECI attempts to hold elections and declare the results before the end of the term.
what happened in the past
Citing the examples and history of these states, the official added that in 2009, when the Haryana Assembly was dissolved in August, about seven months before its term expired, the two states went to polls together. The term of the Maharashtra Assembly will end in November 2009.
In 2014, the Haryana Assembly term ended on October 27 and the Maharashtra Assembly term ended on November 8, a difference of 12 days. The election was held on October 15 and the results were announced on October 19.
Additionally, in 2014, elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand. The term of the J&K Assembly will end on January 19, 2015, and the term of the Jharkhand Assembly will end on January 3, 2015. The counting date is December 23, 2014.
Looking back at the 2014 schedule, the official added that elections in Haryana and Maharashtra must be completed by October 22. Timetable announced.
In 2019, no elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir. The elections in Haryana and Maharashtra were held on October 21, 2019, and the counting date was October 24, 2019. Rashtra's term ends on November 9, a gap of seven days.
“The term of the Haryana Assembly will end on November 3 and the term of the Maharashtra Assembly will end on November 26. The time interval between the end of the assembly term this time will be 23 days.” Jammu, Kashmir and After the electoral process in Haryana is completed, Maharashtra will have time to hold elections. Maharashtra and Jharkhand both require additional security, but not Haryana, which also completed its term first,” the official explained.
The official assured that the poll body would hold elections in Maharashtra before the end of the term. It is also important to note that all 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly were subject to single-day voting in the past few elections.
The elections in J&K will be held in three phases from September 18. Counting will be completed on October 4.
Haryana and J&K
The ECI on Friday announced the assembly poll schedule for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. When asked about not including Maharashtra in the cycle, CEC Kumar said the state is receiving rainfall and there will be a lot of festivals in the coming weeks. He also said that Jammu and Kashmir will require a large number of troops.
Besides being a sensitive border state, all candidates in Jammu and Kashmir must be protected. Therefore, the deployment must be high and sufficient. Kumar assured that security would be provided to the candidates while announcing the dates on Friday.
Responding to media queries after announcing dates for Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, Kumar said earlier Jammu and Kashmir was not a factor but now it is. Notably, the Supreme Court has set September 30 as the deadline to complete the electoral process for the newly formed federal United Emirates. The ECI will take place in a few days.
Kumar said that in the next few months, elections have to be held in five states/Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi.
“…Based on the demands of the more demanding forces in J&K, we have decided to hold two elections simultaneously…there are many other factors. Due to rains in Maharashtra, BLO could not complete the job,” he said .
Kumar added that Ganesh Chaturthi (September 7), Pitrapaksh (September 17 to October 2), Navratri (October 3 to October 12) and Diwali (October 31/Nov. 1) will also affect the electoral arrangements in Maharashtra.
