Srinagar, Aug 02(KNS): The Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and accompanied by Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu, will visit Jammu and Kashmir from August 8-10 to assess preparations for upcoming assembly elections, officials said here.

This visit comes ahead of the Supreme Court's September 30 deadline for holding elections in the Union Territory.

The Commission has instructed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to transfer officers from their home districts, a standard procedure before elections.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

This move underscores the imminent assembly polls, with similar directives issued to chief secretaries in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand, which will also face elections later this year.

Jammu and Kashmir has been under Central rule since June 19, 2018, following the collapse of the coalition government led by the People's Democratic Party’s Mehbooba Mufti and the withdrawal of its alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Manoj Sinha currently serves as the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory.(KNS).