New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday deferred the Haryana assembly poll date to October 5 from October 1, saying the decision was taken keeping in mind a centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community. The counting of votes for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana assembly polls will now be held on October 8 instead of October 4, the poll body said.It has been a practice of the EC to hold the counting of votes on the same day for assemblies which go to polls together as the results of one state could affect trends in others.Before the revision of the date, the Haryana polls were to be held along with the third and last phase of the Jammu and Kashmir elections.The decision to postpone the Haryana elections has been taken to honour both the voting rights and traditions of the Bishnoi community which has upheld a 300-400-year-old practice in remembrance of their Guru Jambheshwar, the EC said.It said it had received a representation from the national president of the All India Bishnoi Mahasabha, Bikaner, Rajasthan for rescheduling the Haryana assembly elections.He said generations of families from Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana visit their native village Mukam in Rajasthan on ‘amavas’ in the month of ‘Asoj’ for the annual festival in Bikaner in the memory of Guru Jambheshwar, according to the EC.This year, the festival falls on October 2 and thousands of Bishnoi families residing in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar will be travelling to Rajasthan on the day, denying them their voting rights.Separately, the ruling BJP and the opposition INLD in Haryana had urged the EC to revise the polling date keeping in mind the long weekend which might result in poor voter turnout as people tend to go out on extended weekends.The revised polling day would also resolve any concerns about a six-day holiday by taking a day’s leave on September 30, sources pointed out.They said the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Haryana sent a report on Saturday wherein he confirmed after holding consultations with the deputy commissioners of Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad that the Bishnoi community’s annual festival falls on ‘amavas’ during the month of “Asoj” on October 2 this year.The CEO noted that thousands of Bishnoi families reside in these three districts, and they have been visiting their native place in Mukam, Rajasthan during this time for the last three centuries.Families from these districts are expected to start their journey on October 1, he said.In the past too, the EC has adjusted election dates keeping in mind the sentiments of various communities.The EC had postponed the 2022 Punjab assembly elections by a week to accommodate devotees travelling to Varanasi for Guru Ravidas Jayanti.Similarly, the commission changed the dates for the 2022 Manipur polls to respect the Christian community’s Sunday prayers. In the 2023 Rajasthan assembly elections, it rescheduled polling as it was originally scheduled to be held on Devuthani Ekadashi, a day significant for mass weddings in Rajasthan.In the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the poll date was changed due to Barawafat.
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