The Election Commission of India on Saturday changed the polling day for Haryana from October 1 to October 5, 2024, and accordingly counting day for Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana Assembly elections from October 4 to October 8, 2024.

Announcing the decision through a notification, the ECI said that the decision has been taken to honour both the voting rights and the traditions of the Bishnoi community, which has upheld a centuries-old practice of participating in the Asoj Amavasya festival celebration in remembrance of their Guru Jambheshwar.

The Commission had received representation from National President, All India Bishnoi Mahasabha, Bikaner, Rajasthan, for rescheduling the date of polling of October 1 for Haryana Assembly election as for generations numerous families of Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana have observed a long-standing tradition of visiting their native village Mukam, in Rajasthan during the Amavas in the month of “Asoj” for their annual festival in Bikaner district, in the memory of their Guru Jambheshwar.

This year, the festival will take place on October 2 and thousands of Bishnoi families residing in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar would be travelling to Rajasthan on poll day, denying them their voting rights, the notification read.

In the past, the Commission has also adjusted election dates to respect the sentiments of various communities. For instance, during the Punjab Assembly Elections in 2022, the Commission postponed the polls by a week to accommodate devotees travelling to Varanasi for Guru Ravidas Jayanti.

Similarly, in Manipur during the 2022 Assembly elections, the Commission changed the polling dates to respect the Christian community’s Sunday prayers.

Likewise, in the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections, the Commission rescheduled polling originally scheduled on Devuthani Ekadashi, a day significant for mass weddings in Rajasthan.

“In UP Assembly Elections 2012, poll date was changed due to Barawafat. Coincidentally, the revised polling day would also resolve any concerns of a six-day holiday by taking a one-day leave on Sep 30, 2024”, the ECI said in a notification.

Meanwhile, the former Haryana CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda reacted to the postponement of the Haryana election date and said, “It is the Election Commission’s right, they have extended the date.” BJP has already accepted defeat in Haryana, adding that he said when the Haryana government wrote a letter to the Election Commission, he had said at that time that the BJP had accepted defeat.

BJP leader Anil Vij welcomed the decision of ECI and said the commission took action on BJP’s application and changed the dates. “We intended that on the earlier election dates, people would have got 5 holidays and there would have been chances people go for holidays or urgent work and this could have led to a decrease in the vote percentage”, he added.

Reacting to the harassment of a woman by the BJP workers on Vande Bharat train flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, the Congress has slammed saffron party and said this is the conduct, character and face of the BJP.

Sharing the video of the incident, Congress said, “Narendra Modi today flagged off the Vande Bharat train from Meerut to Lucknow. Then BJP leaders occupied seats of this train. When a female passenger aboard a train was going to get food, BJP leaders misbehaved and assaulted her. This video is a witness to the conduct, character and face of the BJP.”

According to reports, an incident occurred on the newly launched Meerut-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express today, where a woman and her companion claimed to have faced harassment from BJP workers on board the train.

The woman described the ordeal, mentioning that they were confronted while trying to access food in a train coach. Allegedly, a man obstructed their path, asserting that the cabin was exclusively for BJP members and refusing them passage.

Upon their attempt to retrace their steps, a heated dispute and physical altercation ensued. The woman expressed, “We were trying to pass through the cabin to get food when a man stopped us, stating it was the BJP’s cabin and we were not allowed to pass through. When we tried to return, they began arguing and pushing us, questioning our frequent movement within the cabin. We also have connections to the BJP, but individuals like these tarnish the party’s reputation.”

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed condemned the behaviour and said, “This is completely unacceptable. The train is public property, not a personal or BJP asset.”

Meanwhile, the Railway noticed the incident that happened on the Vande Bharat train. In a statement, it stated that the Railway Protection Force requested the passenger to submit a written complaint with video evidence, but the woman did not submit a complaint and got off at the next station.

In a major setback for saffron party, two more BJP leaders, including a district president, stepped down from the primary membership of the party on Saturday, citing their resentment against the choice of candidates in their constituencies for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.

The saffron party is facing resentment over its ticket distribution in the Union Territory immediately after it started releasing the list of candidates for the Assembly elections on August 26, with party leaders and workers protesting in several districts of the Jammu region.

In a related development, hundreds of BJP workers took out a rally in the Khour block of the Chhamb Assembly constituency in the outskirts of Jammu against fielding former MLA Rajeev Sharma from there.

Two of its rebel leaders have already filed their nominations as independent candidates from Ramban and Padder-Nagseni Assembly constituencies, which are among 24 constituencies going to polls in the first phase of the three-phased elections on September 18.

The state party’s Samba district president Kashmir Singh said: “With a heavy heart, I am submitting my resignation from the primary membership of the party for which I have worked for 42 long years. I was compelled by the circumstances after the party gave ticket to a person who had come from the National Conference (NC) and vociferously opposed our ideology for decades.”

The BJP has fielded former minister Surjit Singh Slathia, who joined the party in October 2021 after quitting the NC, from the Samba constituency which was opened in the general category after being reserved for the Scheduled Castes for 28 years.

However, Singh said he would take back his resignation if the party leadership decides to change the candidate and give a ticket to any senior member of the party, otherwise he said, “I am going to take forward this struggle and file my nomination papers as an independent candidate against him.”

Another BJP youth leader Kanav Sharma also resigned from the party to protest against the ticket to a “corrupt leader”.

Kanav Sharma, Jammu district president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, said he is a third-generation member of his family associated with the organisation and its ideology but the decision of the party to give ticket to Yudhvir Sethi from Jammu East is not acceptable to his conscience.

The BJP faced strong resentment from party workers from Jammu North, Jammu East, Paddar, Ramban, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Chhamb and Akhnoor constituencies over ticket distribution.