TNFChandigarh/ TNF
The Haryana Assembly election dates have been revised. Voting, initially scheduled for October 1, will now take place on October 5. The counting of votes will occur on October 8. This change follows requests from the BJP and INLD, who had urged the Election Commission to alter the voting date. The Commission has adjusted the schedule in response to these political parties’ demands.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the voting date remains unchanged. However, vote counting in both Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir will take place on October 8. The nomination dates in Jammu and Kashmir will stay as originally planned, with the third phase of voting still set for October 1.
According to the Election Commission, the notification for Haryana elections will be issued on September 5. The last date for filing nominations will be September 12, with scrutiny of nomination papers scheduled for September 13. Candidates will have until September 16 to withdraw their nominations.
The date change was made to accommodate the Bishnoi community’s long-standing festival. The Commission decided to shift the election to October 5 to respect the voting rights and traditions of the Bishnoi community. The Asauj festival this year falls on October 2, and many Bishnoi families from Sirsa, Fatehabad, and Hisar travel to Rajasthan for this event, potentially missing their chance to vote. The annual Asauj festival, held in memory of Guru Jambheshwar, is celebrated by families from Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana in Bikaner.
This is not the first time the Election Commission has adjusted voting dates. In 2022, the Punjab Assembly elections were postponed by a week to accommodate devotees traveling to Varanasi for Guru Ravidas Jayanti. Similarly, in Manipur, the election dates were modified to honor Christian Sunday prayers. In the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the date was changed due to the Barawafat festival.
