The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar has said Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are pending while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) that came into force on March 16 with the announcement of the Lok Sabha election has been lifted.

"Elections in Jammu and Kashmir are pending. When we went there on March 12, we indicated that we would do it at the right time. We will give the people an opportunity to form their government and choose their representatives as per their choice as soon as possible,” CEC Rajiv Kumar said.

The CEC had recently hailed the high voter turnout of Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that Assembly polls in the UT would be held very soon.

The Supreme Court in December last year had directed Election Commission of India to complete the Assembly polls in J&K by September 30.

J&K is under direct central rule since June 2018.

Meanwhile, in a communication to the Union Cabinet Secretary and state chief secretaries, the Election Commission said as results of Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh along with some assembly bypolls have been declared, “model code of conduct has ceased to be in operation with immediate effect”.

The poll code was lifted on a day when the Election Commission led by Rajiv Kumar handed over a list of winning candidates to President Droupadi Murmu, putting in motion the process to constitute the 18th Lok Sabha.

While it does not enjoy any statutory backing, the Supreme Court has upheld its sanctity on several occasions. The Election Commission is fully authorised to investigate any violation of the code and pronounce punishment.

The poll code finds its origin during the 1960 assembly elections in Kerala when the administration tried to evolve a code of conduct for the political parties. The code has evolved over the last 60 years to assume its present form.

According to the Election Commission of India, the model code of conduct states that the parties in power at the Centre and in the states should ensure that they do not use their official position for campaigning.