The Election Commission on Saturday announced that the assembly polls in Haryana will be held on October 5 instead of October 1. At the same time, counting of votes in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir will now take place on October 8 instead of October 4. Both INLD and BJP parties were demanding to change the date of elections in Haryana.
A statement issued by the Election Commission said that the change in the election date has been done respecting the voting rights of the citizens and the traditions of the Bishnoi community. Haryana has a centuries-old tradition of participating in the Asoj Amavasya festival in honor of Guru Jambeshwar.
Why was the election date changed?
A statement issued by the Election Commission said that the National President of the All India Bishnoi Mahasabha, Bikaner (Rajasthan) had requested to reschedule the polling date for the Haryana assembly elections to October 1, 2024.
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The request was made by many families from Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana to participate in the annual festival held in honor of their Guru Jambeshwar on the new moon day of the month of Asoj, his native village in Rajasthan. They have been following this tradition for the last 300 years.
What is Asoj Utsav?
The ‘Asoj’ festival is on October 2 and thousands of Bishnoi families from Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar will travel to Rajasthan on polling day, affecting their ability to vote. The Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also requested the Election Commission to postpone the poll date for the assembly elections.
Sources said the Election Commission had organized the polls keeping in view the gazetted and restricted holidays in the state. After receiving the submission, the Election Commission sought a report from the state’s Chief Electoral Officer, which he submitted on Saturday, a source said. Sources said the CEO consulted the deputy commissioners of the three districts, which have a large Bishnoi community.
A long holiday caused a change
The change in polling date also comes after concerns over the six-day holiday, with the BJP and INLD seeking to change the polling date to October 1. He said October 1 clashes with public holidays, weekends and religious festivals. In such a situation, people will be able to take advantage of six holidays and go out together. Due to which the voting percentage may decrease.
His argument was that since 28th September is a Saturday, 29th September is a Sunday, 1st October is a Tuesday, 2nd October is a holiday for Gandhi Jayanti and 3rd October is a holiday for Agrasen Jayanti, so taking a holiday on 30th September itself would extend the period by six days. would be free. Due to which people may walk out and voting percentage may decrease. The Election Commission is not in favor of weekend voting.
The date of election has been changed earlier too
The Election Commission has a history of adjusting election dates to respect community sentiments. In the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, polling was postponed for a week to allow devotees to travel to Varanasi for Guru Ravidas Jayanti.
During the 2022 Manipur assembly elections, polling dates were changed to respect the Sunday prayers of the Christian community.
In the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections, the commission rescheduled the polling date which initially coincided with Devuthani Ekadashi, an important day for group marriages.
