According to a report by jagran.com, the Jharkhand Assembly elections may be held earlier than scheduled in October this year. The polls may be held in two or three phases. The speculation comes amid preparations by the Election Commission of India and the state Cabinet Election Department.
A team from the Election Commission of India arrived in Ranchi on Wednesday on a two-day visit to review preparations for the state assembly elections. The commission team included Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Dharmendra Sharma, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitish Kumar Vyas and Principal Secretary Arvind Anand, among others.
After arriving in Ranchi, the team held a meeting with Chief Election Officer K Ravi Kumar and other officials.On Thursday, the team will review the ongoing work under the Second Special Summary Revision Programme 2024 for Voters’ Register in the state with all district electoral officers at an auditorium in Patratu Tourism Vihar, Patratu.
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In 2019, the Jharkhand Assembly elections were held in five phases. The Chief Election Officer has reportedly recommended that elections be held in two or three phases this time. On the issue of early elections, the Chief Election Officer said only the Election Commission can answer that question.
He, however, has said that elections can be held any time before the end of the six months of the parliamentary term.A programme of revision of the voters’ register for the parliamentary elections is underway and the draft voters’ register is scheduled to be published on July 25. After filing objections, the final publication of the voters’ register is scheduled to take place on August 20.
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The reason for holding the state assembly elections early is that Haryana and Maharashtra are scheduled to hold their state assembly elections in September/October, and Jammu and Kashmir has a legal obligation to hold its elections by September 30. Holding state assembly elections in these three states as well as Jharkhand will save time and resources.
(Information provided by agency)
