Srinagar: A significant three-phased election commenced on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir, marking the first polls since the abrogation of Article 370. Voters turned out in large numbers under a heavy security presence to cast their ballots for a new government.
Long queues formed at 3,276 polling stations across 24 constituencies in seven districts, with eligible voters totaling 2.3 million. This election is particularly notable as it is the first in a decade for the region.
Among the candidates, 219 are vying for election, with an interesting 42 percent running as Independents. The first phase of polling includes 16 seats from the Kashmir region and eight from Jammu, spanning both sides of the Pir Panjal mountain range.
Key political players include the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, led by Mehbooba Mufti; the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, headed by Omar Abdullah; the Bharatiya Janata Party; and the Congress Party. Other notable parties in the race include the People’s Conference, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party, and the Apni Party.
The banned Jamaat-e-Islami is also influencing the elections by supporting Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party. Rashid, who gained attention by defeating Abdullah in the Lok Sabha elections while in jail, was released on interim bail earlier this month, allowing him to participate in the campaign.
Notably, Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, is contesting her first Assembly election from the Srigufwara-Bijbehara constituency in South Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, took to social media to encourage voter participation, stating, “I call upon all voters whose assembly constituencies are voting in the first phase today to turn out in record numbers & exercise their democratic rights.”
These elections are historic, occurring five years after the region was reorganized into a Union Territory following the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, which also led to the creation of Ladakh as a separate UT without a legislature.
