Although the Supreme Court has mandated the Centre to conduct the polls by the end of September, a spate of terrorist attacks in J&K could cause delays.
'Everyone is unhappy with the lieutenant governor's administration, which is ignorant, high-handed, and inaccessible.'
A delegation of diplomats from 16 countries, including the United States, Norway and Singapore, on Wednesday observed the ongoing assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Among the BJP rebels, a notable figure is Gopal Shetty, a two-time MLA and former Lok Sabha member from Mumbai. He has filed his nomination as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee, Sanjay Upadhyay, in Mumbai's Borivali assembly constituency.
Even as parleys continue in both states, the grand old party is expected to contest less than 110 seats in the November 20 polls for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.
The Congress on Tuesday said it cannot accept the Haryana assembly polls verdict as there were 'serious issues' about the integrity of the counting process and functioning of the EVMs in some districts, and asserted that it would take up the matter with the Election Commission.
Parties like the NC and Peoples Democratic Party claimed the administration has not addressed their main concern on whether ''outsiders'' ordinarily residing in J-K will be allowed to enroll as voters.
"I will not be contesting for the post of president any longer. The elections for the post will be held on December 5. It is time for the new generation to take over the responsibilities," Abdullah told PTI.
After the Congress' shock defeat in Haryana, the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties flexed their muscles on Wednesday, accusing the grand old party of ignoring them.
'We put the seed of BJP's ideology in Jammu, watered it, nurtured it for four decades and when it was time to reap the fruits of those efforts, the fruits are being sold out to the very same people who worked hard to uproot this tree.' 'Shockingly, our own people are letting this happen and nobody from Delhi bothers to even listen to us.'
"This fight is against the hatred that the BJP and RSS are spreading throughout the country. They have tried to create conflicts between Hindus and Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, and Hindus and Christians just to hold onto power. But they are failing and their strategy is not working," he said.
'I want to ask the Congress only one question: What is more important than election management in politics?'
As controversy raged over Yati Narsinghanand's objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad, his supporters on Sunday alleged that the Dasna temple head priest is being illegally kept in detention by police, which denied the claim.
Convert the Haryana result into a blessing in disguise; make the calamity into an opportunity. Maharashtra was always the big ticket game in town; MVA must win it. The Congress should shift headquarters to Mumbai for the entire month. Show urgency and a hunger to win, asserts Sanjay Jha.
The Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday virtually turned down the offer of support from its arch rival National Conference for government formation, dimming the prospects of an early resolution to the political stalemate resulting from the hung verdict in last month's assembly polls.
Every trick in the trade is being tried unabashedly.
In simple arithmetical terms every possible 'arrangement' is being made to deny a majority to its rivals. A split verdict would hand a vital advantage to the BJP which is adept at extracting the best out of such a situation, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'The Congress backstabbed us and the BJP frontstabbed us.' 'This is the only difference between the two parties.'
What the election demonstrated is that the BJP has a stranglehold on most of the Hindu votes in the Union territory, observes David Devadas.
'We have been cheated. We are trying to bring Article 370 back'
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed nominations to contest from the valley for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, aiming to ensure the return and rehabilitation of their fellow community members, whose number run up to 3 lakh.
The ruling coalition between the Congress and the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir may split amid indications that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was considering resigning following sharp differences between the two parties.
People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and several other regional party leaders on Monday claimed that they have been placed under house arrest on the fifth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehbooba had announced on Monday that she had convened an all party meeting on July 21 to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the Kashmir valley.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
The National Conference and the Congress have started back-channel talks to try and form a coalition to form a government in the light of the fractured verdict. NC sources said such an arrangement would best serve the interests of both the parties and the state. National Conference president Omar Abdullah, who is seen as the prospective chief minister, said earlier in the day that the NC will approach the Congress, which is a like-minded party, to form the government.
The National Conference is a part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and will continue to be, party leader Omar Abdullah clarified on Thursday and said it is in talks with the Congress for an arrangement in three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Meanwhile, police did not allow journalists to gather near National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah's residence at Gupkar here, officials said.
Film folk celebrate International Yoga Day with pictures of them doing, well, yoga!
Congress on Wednesday downplayed reports of a possible split in its alliance with the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir even as NC president Farooq Abdullah said that his son and state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would take the final decision on the ties between the two parties.
Those familiar with intricate Kashmir politics do not rule out further delay in the assembly elections. Primarily, because the BJP having 'invested' so much for so long in Kashmir would try its best to wait a little longer if only to secure the 'gains' it believes to have achieved after its deafening action on August 5, 2019, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The Enforcement Directorate questioned former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah for five hours on Thursday in connection with a case related to the purchase of a building by the J&K Bank about 12 years ago when he was in office, officials said in New Delhi.
'I take back my comment, but, now that you proved it was genuine love between the NC and the PDP that prompted a failed govt formation attempt'
As suspense over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said the idea of a grand alliance with the National Conference and Congress was an option for forming a stable government in the state.
The PDP has 28 MLAs, followed by NC's 15 and the Congress's 12. The three parties together will have majority in the 87-member House. The Bharatiya Janata Party is the second largest party in the state with 25 members.
Abdullah, who put out multiple posts, also apologised to the people of J-K and Ladakh. "Disappointed but not disheartened. The struggle will continue," he said.
The Jammu and Kashmir BJP today alleged that any alliance between the Congress and National Conference can be dangerous for the state.
'If, as happened in Baramulla during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the youth in the Valley get triggered enough to jump into the wider fray, the end result would be difficult to predict, especially as the state's post-August 5, 2019 political format remains substantially fragmented and foggy,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
High voter turnout was recorded in most of the seven assembly constituencies in six states where by-elections were held on Tuesday.
The party also said it would be a travesty to treat the current unrest in the Valley as a mere law and order problem.
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