The Election Commission on Saturday extended the date of Haryana assembly elections from October 1 to October 5, keeping in mind the centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community. The Commission said that the counting of votes for the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana assembly elections will now take place on October 8 instead of October 4.
The commission has given the reason behind this and clarified that this decision has been taken to respect both the voting rights and traditions of the Bishnoi community. The Bishnoi community has maintained the centuries-old tradition of participating in the Asoj Amavasya festival. They celebrate the festival in the memory of their guru Jambeshwar on that day. This fair has been organized continuously for the last 490 years in Nokha tehsil of Rajasthan.
Bishnoi society had demanded
The Election Commission was urged by the National President of All India Bishnoi Mahasabha, Bikaner (Rajasthan) to reschedule the polling date for Haryana Assembly Elections to 01.10.2024. As many families from Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana follow a long tradition of visiting their ancestral village Mukam in Rajasthan during Amavasya in the month of “Asoj” for their annual festival in Bikaner District in memory of their Guru Jambheshwar for generations.
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This year, the festival will be held on October 1 and 2. In this, thousands of Bishnoi families living in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar in Haryana will travel to Rajasthan on the day of voting. This will not give them their voting rights. The Commission has also mentioned its excellent record in history of changing its election schedule.
EC has changed the dates on these occasions earlier also
In the past too, the Commission has made adjustments in election dates respecting the sentiments of various communities. For instance, during the Punjab Assembly elections in 2022, the Commission advanced the polling by a week to facilitate devotees visiting Varanasi for Guru Ravidas Jayanti. Similarly, during the 2022 Assembly elections in Manipur, the Commission changed the polling dates to respect the Sunday prayers of the Christian community.
In the 2023 elections of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, the Commission had also changed the originally scheduled voting date on Devshayan Ekadashi. This day is an important muhurta for marriages in Rajasthan. In the UP Assembly elections 2012, the voting date was changed due to Baravafaat.
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In Haryana too, the voting schedule was made in such a way that there was a weekly holiday on Saturday and Sunday two days before the voting. Only Monday, 30 September was a working day and there was a holiday for voting on 1 October and a holiday on the next day, 2 October. That is, democracy was stuck between holidays. Now the Commission believes that its move will also solve any concern of a 6-day holiday by taking a day off on the revised voting day, 30 September 2024.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)