Voting Begins For 24 Seats In First Phase Of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections

Voting in the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections has commenced on Wednesday (18 September) with ballots being cast in 24 of the Union Territory's 90 constituencies.

This is the first first Assembly elections being held in the UT since 2014 and its first since the removal of Article 370, which gave the erstwhile state special status, in 2019.

This is also the inaugural election since the state's reorganisation into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The election will take place across several constituencies, with four seats being contested in Pulwama, two in Shopian, three in Kulgam, seven in Anantnag, three in Kishtwar, three in Doda, and two each in Ramban and Banihal.

In total, eight constituencies are in Jammu, while 16 are in the Kashmir Valley.

A major issue dominating the election discourse is the demand for the restoration of statehood, a promise made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as the Congress and the National Conference, which are contesting the elections in an alliance.

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have reaffirmed the BJP’s commitment to restoring statehood.

Apart from these national players, Mehbooba Mufti’s People's Democratic Party (PDP), Abdul Ghani Lone’s People's Conference, Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party, and Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party are also in the fray.

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