The Election Commission announced on Saturday that the election date for Haryana has been changed. Now, voting for the state's 90 Assembly seats will take place on October 5 instead of October 1. The commission stated that this decision was taken considering the century-old festival of the Bishnoi community. Additionally, the commission has changed the vote counting dates for the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Assembly elections to October 8 instead of October 4. Both the BJP and the INLD had also requested these changes.
According to the Election Commission, the date was changed to respect the voting rights and traditions of the Bishnoi community. The Bishnoi society has been celebrating a centuries-old practice in memory of their Guru Jambheshwar. This year, the Asuja New Moon falls on October 2. The commission received a memorandum from the President of the All India Bishnoi Sabha, Bikaner, Rajasthan, requesting the election date to be rescheduled.
In the memorandum, they mentioned that families from Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana visit their ancestral village in Bikaner to celebrate the annual festival in memory of Guru Jambheshwar during the 'Amavas' of the 'Asuja' month. This year, the festival falls on October 2, and thousands of Bishnoi families from Sirsa, Fatehabad, and Hisar will be traveling to Rajasthan on this day, which would prevent them from casting their votes.
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BJP-INLD's Long Weekend Argument
BJP and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) also requested the Election Commission to change the election date. They argued in writing that the election date (October 1) should be moved forward because it clashes with weekends, public holidays, and religious festivals. This could result in people taking advantage of the holidays to travel out of town, potentially reducing voter turnout.
Haryana BJP President Mohan Lal Badoli wrote to the Election Commission, stating that multiple holidays before and after October 1 could make it a long weekend. He mentioned that September 28 is a Saturday, September 29 is a Sunday, September 30 is a Monday (a working day in between), and voting on October 1 (Tuesday). Additionally, October 2 is a holiday for Gandhi Jayanti, and October 3 is a holiday for Agrasen Jayanti. This six-day long weekend could result in people traveling during this time. After the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission had mentioned that they learned that elections should not be held during extreme heat or on weekends.
What is Asuja Amavasya?
Asuja Amavasya is an important festival for the Bishnoi community, celebrated for centuries in memory of their founder, Guru Jambheshwar. He is believed to have attained Samadhi in a village called Mukam in Bikaner, Rajasthan. This place is now called Mukti Dham. It is believed in the Bishnoi community that those who selflessly serve here achieve moksha. Two major fairs are organized at Mukam Temple every year, one on Phalgun Amavasya and the other on Asuja Amavasya. Every year on Asuja Amavasya, people from distant parts of Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan visit this place and pay their respects at Mukti Dham.
Read More: Bishnoi Festival, BJP and INLD's '6 Day Long Weekend' Argument... Find Out Why EC Changed Haryana Election Date
A Look Back at the 2019 Assembly Elections
In the last Assembly elections in 2019, voting was conducted in a single phase. Voting for all the seats in the Haryana Assembly was held on October 21, 2019, and the results were announced on October 24. In those elections, 68.20% of the voters exercised their franchise.
In the 2019 Haryana Assembly elections, BJP emerged as the largest party with a 36.7% vote share, winning 40 seats. Congress received 28.2% of the votes and secured 31 seats, placing it in the second position. Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) won 10 seats with a 14.9% vote share, while the Haryana Lokhit Party won one seat with less than 1% of the vote share.