The Election Commission on Saturday deferred the Haryana assembly polls date to October 5 from October 1, keeping in mind a centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community.
The poll body said that the counting of votes for the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana assembly polls would now be held on October 8 instead of October 4.
It said the decision had been taken to honour both the voting rights and traditions of the Bishnoi community, which had upheld a 300-400-year-old practice in remembrance of their Guru Jambheshwar.
The EC had received a representation from the national president of All India Bishnoi Mahasabha, Bikaner, Rajasthan for rescheduling the date for the Haryana assembly elections.
He said generations of families from Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana visited their native village Mukam in Rajasthan on 'amavas' in the month of 'Asoj' for the annual festival in Bikaner in memory of Guru Jambheshwar.
This year, the festival falls on October 2 and thousands of Bishnoi families residing in Sirsa, Fatehabad, and Hisar will be travelling to Rajasthan on the day.
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