INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
It said the decision has been taken to honour both the voting rights.1 min read Last Updated Aug 31 2024 | 8:01 PM IST
The Election
Commission on Saturday deferred the Haryana assembly poll date to October 5 from October 1, 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 said the decision 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 had received a representation from the national
president of All India Bishnoi Mahasabha, Bikaner, Rajasthan for rescheduling the date for 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.
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.First
Published: Aug 31 2024 | 7:08 PMIST
