The first phase of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir began on Wednesday, with 24 out of the 90 seats in the Union territory going to the polls. These are the first Assembly elections since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Polling is underway in seven districts: Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian. A turnout of 41.17% was recorded till 1 pm, with the Kishtwar district registering the highest figure of 56.16% and Pulwama with the lowest figure of 29.84%.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge urged people in Jammu and Kashmir to vote in large numbers.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also urged voters to exercise their “democratic right”. In a post on X, the Congress leader said: “For the first time in the history of the country, the statehood of a state has been taken away and it has been made a Union territory.”
He added that this was an insult to Jammu and Kashmir, and a violation of the constitutional rights of its people.
“Your every vote for INDIA will ensure return of your rights, will bring employment, will make women strong, will bring you out of the ‘era of injustice,’” he said.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray are the Peoples Democratic Party’s Iltija Mufti and Waheed Para, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir from Dooru.
While the Congress and the National Conference are contesting the Assembly elections in alliance, both parties have fielded candidates in Banihal, Bhaderwah, and Doda in a “friendly but disciplined contest”.
As the polling for the first phase began, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said he hoped voters in Jammu and Kashmir would avoid “fragmentation of their votes”, reported PTI.
“People will have to keep it [the independent candidates] in mind, because most of these candidates are in Kashmir,” Abdullah told the news agency. “It seems it is an attempt to fragment votes and divide people.”
The second phase of the elections in the Union territory will be held on September 25 and the third phase on October 1. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 8.
On August 5, 2019, the Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. It also bifurcated the state into two Union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Also read: Why the election noise in Kashmir is a symptom of democratic deep freeze