J-K Election, Phase 1: 24 Seats Up For Grabs In First Assembly Polls Since Art 370 Abrogation — All About It

J-K Election, Phase 1: The first phase of Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections is on Wednesday, September 18, covering 24 constituencies. Know key candidates in fray, seats going to polls, and more.

Polling officials leave for their respective polling stations on the eve of first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election in Kishtwar district.

Source : PTI

J-K Election, Phase 1: The first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections is set to commence on Wednesday, September 18. This phase will see voting in 24 out of the 90 constituencies, covering both Kashmir and Jammu divisions. The outcome of this crucial phase will determine the fate of 219 candidates, as over 23.27 lakh voters, including 5.66 lakh young voters, head to the polls.

This phase marks the first assembly elections in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, which ended the state’s special status and restructured it into two Union territories.

The constituencies up for election in this phase include significant seats such as Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Anantnag, Pahalgam, and Ramban. In total, the first phase will cover 16 assembly constituencies in the Kashmir Division and 8 in the Jammu Division. Specifically, the Kashmir Division constituencies are Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, and Pahalgam. The Jammu Division will see voting in Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban, and Banihal.

J-K Election, Phase 1: Key Candidates

Notably, the BJP is not contesting in the eight seats of this phase, and the PDP is also abstaining from certain seats. The National Conference (NC) and Congress, despite being in alliance, will engage in friendly contests. The BJP's campaign strategy has focused on the Jammu region, while Congress has balanced its efforts between Kashmir and Jammu.

Assembly Seats	BJP	Congress/CPIM	PDP	NC
1. Pampore	Er. Syed Showkat Gayoor Andrabi	---	Zakhoor Ahmad Mir	Hasnain Massodi
2. Tral	No Candidate	Surinder Singh Channi	Rafiq Ahmad Ik	---
3. Pulwama	No Candidate	---	Waheed-ur Rehman Parra	Mohammad Khalil Bandh
4. Rajpora	Arshid Bhat	---	Syed Bashir Ahmed	Syed Bashir Ahmed
5. Zainapora	No Candidate	---	Ghulam Mohiuddin Wani	Showkat Ahmad Ganai
6. Shopian	Jawed Ahmad Qadri	---	Yawar Shafi Shafi	Sheikh Mohammad Rafi
7. D.H. Pora	No Candidate	Sakina Ittoo	Gulzar Ahmad Dar	---
8. Kulgam	No Candidate	Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami - CPIM	Mohd Amin Dar	---
9. Devsar	No Candidate	Amanullah Mantoo	Sartaj Ahmad Madani	---
10. Dooru	No Candidate	Ghulam Ahmad Mir	Mohd Ashraf Malik	---
11. Kokernag (ST)	Ch. Roshan Hussain Gujjar	---	Haroon Rashid Khata	Zafar Ali Khatana
12. Anantnag West	Mohd Rafiq Wani	---	---	Abdul Majeed Larmi
13. Anantnag	Adv. Syed Wazahat	Peerzada Mohd Syed	Mehboob Beg	---
14. Srigufwara - Bijbehara	Sofi Yousuf	---	Iltija Mufti	Bashir Ahmad Veeri
15. Shangus - Anantnag East	Veer Saraf	---	Abdul Rehman Veeri	Reyaz Ahmad Khan
16. Pahalgam	No Candidates	---	Shabir Ahmad Sediqui	Altaf Ahmad Kaloo
17. Inderwal	Tariq Keen	Sheikh Zafarullah	Hussain Sheikh	---
18. Kishtwar	Shagun Parihar	---	Firdous Ahmad Tak	Sajad Kichloo
19. Padder - Nagseni	Sunil Sharma	---	Sandesh Kumar	Pooja Thakur
20. Bhadarwah	Daleep Singh Parihar	Nadeem Sharief	No candidate	Mehboob Iqbal
21. Doda	Gajay Singh Rana	Sheikh Riyaz	Mansoor Ahmed Batt	Khalid Najeeb Soharwardy
22. Doda West	Shakti Raj Parihar	Pradeep Kumar Bhagat	---	---
23. Ramban	Rakesh Thakur	---	---	Arjun Singh Raju
24. Banihal	Salim Bhat	Vikar Rasool Wani	Imtiaz Ahmed Shan	Sajad Shaheen

Notable figures in the fray include former ministers Sajjad Kitchloo (NC), Khalid Najid Suharwardy (NC), Vikar Rasool Wani (Congress), Abdul Majid Wani (DPAP), Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami (CPIM), and Sunil Sharma (BJP). Additionally, Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, a three-time MLA, is running as an independent after being denied a ticket by DPAP. Both the National Conference and Congress have fielded candidates in a friendly contest in Banihal, Bhaderwah, and Doda, while some rebel candidates from various parties are also making their bid.

The election will see a total of 3,276 polling stations established to facilitate the voting process. These include special stations designed to enhance voter participation, such as women-only Pink stations, PwD-manned stations, youth-manned stations, and Green Polling Stations.

Of the 23.27 lakh eligible voters, 11.76 lakh are male, 11.51 lakh are female, and 60 are third-gender voters. Youth voters, aged 18 to 29, number 5.66 lakh, including 1.23 lakh first-time voters aged 18 to 19. The phase will also see participation from 28,309 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and 15,774 voters above the age of 85.

Jammu-Kashmir Election Campaigning

The campaign period, which concluded on Monday, saw a flurry of activity from major political parties, with prominent leaders from the BJP and Congress intensifying their efforts on the last day.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spearheaded the BJP's campaign, addressing three back-to-back rallies in the Kishtwar and Ramban districts on Monday. The BJP's focus was on the Jammu region, promoting their vision of 'Naya Kashmir' and cautioning voters about potential terrorism risks if the National Conference (NC)-Congress alliance were to come to power. Shah's final push came as part of his second visit to the region in a fortnight. During his earlier visit on September 6 and 7, he released the BJP’s manifesto for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections and addressed a workers convention. 

In contrast, the Congress launched its manifesto titled "Haath Badlega Halaat" (Hand Will Change the Situation) on Monday. This manifesto promises comprehensive welfare measures, including 100 per cent crop insurance against natural calamities. The Congress campaign aimed to balance their presence between the Kashmir valley and Jammu.

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti largely concentrated their efforts in Kashmir, leaving candidates in Chenab Valley with limited support, according to news agency PTI.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti released her party's manifesto in August, emphasising resolution and reconciliation in Jammu and Kashmir, especially after the abrogation of Article 370, also promising to restore the legislation. The National Conference manifesto promised to repeal the Public Safety Act (PSA), 1 lakh jobs, 6 free cylinders to EWS category and free travel for women in public transport.

The Aam Aadmi Party, Apni Party, and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) have also been active in campaigning, though senior leaders like DPAP Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad were absent from the campaign due to health issues.