Jammu Kashmir Election: Check Out The Key Fights And Candidates In Fray In Phase-1

Jammu and Kashmir Polls: As voting for the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections 2024 at nearly the halfway mark, check out the key candidates whose fates will be decided by 2.3 million voters.

Jammu Kashmir Assembly Election 2024: Voting got underway in the 24 seats across seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir at 7 AM on Wednesday. For the first time in the last 10 years, voters in the state are casting their votes in the assembly elections under a heavy security blanket in the Union Territory to ensure the peaceful completion of the first phase of polling. After an initial lull with a voting percentage of 11.11% till 9 AM, the voter turnout picked up marginally by 11 AM with 26.72% of the eligible voters turning up to cast their ballots.

Over 2.3 million voters will exercise their franchise today for 219 candidates, including 90 independents, in 24 seats across three districts of Jammu region and four districts of Kashmir Valley. This will be the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. According to the Election Commission, a total of 23,27,580 electors are eligible to vote in the first phase, including 11,76,462 men, 11,51,058 women and 60 third-gender voters. 

According to an Election Commission official, "In the first phase, 1.23 lakh young people aged 18 to 19 years, 28,309 disabled and 15,774 elderly voters above 85 years of age will also exercise their franchise. There are 302 polling stations in urban areas and 2,974 in rural areas. Each polling station will have four election officials, including a presiding officer." 

Heavy Security Deployed

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, VK Birdi told news agency PTI, "Jammu and Kashmir Police has made elaborate security arrangements for the assembly elections so that maximum people can exercise their franchise." Birdi said that several contingents of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF), Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police and Jammu and Kashmir Police have been deployed. 

Among the prominent candidates in Kashmir are Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who is contesting from the Kulgam seat for the fifth consecutive time, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir from Dooru, National Conference (NC) leader Sakina Itoo, from Damhal Hajipura, and Sr vice-president of JKNC Kashmir Province Syed Bashir Ahmad from Srigufwara- Bijbehara. 

Sartaj Madni (Devsar) and Abdul Rahman Veeri (Shangus-Anantnag) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are also among the prominent candidates. PDP's Iltija Mufti, who is contesting from Bijbehara, is facing a triangular contest from NC's Bashir Ahmad Veeri and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Sufi Mohammad Yusuf. 

PDP's Waheed Para is contesting from the Pulwama seat. He is an accused in a terror case. He will face a tough challenge from his former party colleague and NC candidate Mohammad Khalil. The contest has become interesting with the entry of Talat Majid Ali, a former member of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami.

Jammu And Kashmir Assembly Seats Up For Grabs  

The constituencies where voting is taking place on Wednesday include Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Janapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, Pahalgam, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni, Bhaderwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban and Banihal.

Key Candidates And Major Fights In Phase-1 Of Jammu And Kashmir Election

• In Pampore, National Conference's Hasnain Masoodi will face PDP's Zahoor Ahmed Mir, who won in 2003, 2008, and 2014.

• In the Tral assembly constituency, PDP's Rafiq Ahmed Naik will face Congress's Surinder Singh Channi. This was won by PDP's Mushtaq Ahmed Shah in 2008 and 2014. 

• Pulwama, which saw the lowest voter turnout till 11 AM on Wednesday, will see a tough fight between PDP's Waheed Ur Rehman Para and Mohammad Khalil Bandh. Waheed Para was recently released from jail. Khalil Bandh had won the seat for PDP in 2018 and 2014. Now he is contesting on a National Conference ticket. 

• In Kulgam, CPI(M)'s Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami will face independent candidate Sayyar Ahmed Reshi supported by the banned Jamaat-e-Islami. Tarigami won the seat in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014.

• In Dooru, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmed Mir will face PDP's Mohammad Ashraf Malik. This area was long considered a National Conference stronghold, with the party having won all assembly elections till 1996. However, in 2002, the seat was wrested by Ghulam Ahmed Mir. He won it again in 2008. But in 2014, shraf Malik won it for the PDP.

• The Sigufwara-Bijbehara seat in Anantnag district will see a triangular contest as BJP's Sofi Yousuf, PDP's Iltija Mufti and National Conference-Congress alliance candidate Bashir Ahmed Veeri vie for supremacy. The seat is considered a PDP bastion, with the party winning it since 1999.

• The BJP's Shagun Parihar is going up against NC's Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo and Firdoos Ahmed Tak in Kishtwar.

• The Banihal will Congress's Vikar Rasool Wani will face National Conference's Sajjan Shahid. Vikar Rasool Wani won the seat in the last two assembly elections.

• Apart from this, National Conference's Sheikh Mehboob Iqbal and Congress's Nadeem Sharief are in the fray in Bhaderwah. BJP's Daleep Singh Parihar, who won the last polls in 2014, is likely to give them a tough fight.

• In Devsar, NC's Peerzada Feroz Ahmed will square off with Congress's Aman Ullah Mantu.

• The Doda seat will be fought for by Congress's Sheikh Riyaz, NC's Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy, PDP's Mansoor Ahmed Bhatt, and BJP's Gajay Singh Rana.