An Election Commission (EC) team will be visiting Jammu and Kashmir earlier next week, and the Lok Sabha (LS) polls may be announced any time after that, sources said on Saturday.
During the visit, on 12th and 13th March, the poll panel’s delegation-led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar will meet top officials concerned to take stock of the security situation and preparations for the polls, added sources.
Notably, in December last, the Supreme Court had ordered the Commission to hold Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir by 30th September, 2024, while pronouncing the judgement in the cases concerning the abrogation of Article 370.
Reportedly, the Centre asked the Commission to assess the possibility of simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the Union Territory.
The poll panel team had visited Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and other states, and took stock of the poll preparedness.
In response to a query by The Statesman over reports that the polls schedule may be announced on Thursday or Friday next, a top EC official said, ”No comment”.
Earlier, the EC while reacting to a message circulated on the social media on announcement of the general elections, categorically said, “A fake message is being shared on WhatsApp regarding schedule for Lok Sabha elections. The message is fake. No dates have been announced so far.”
Election schedule is announced by the Commission through a press conference,” the EC wrote in a post on X on Friday.
It may be mentioned here that the ruling BJP last week released the first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi parliamentary seat.
The Congress on Friday released the first list of 39 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, including former party president Rahul Gandhi, who has been fielded from Kerala’s Wayanad, the constituency he currently represents.
In 2019, the general elections was held in seven phases.