Phase 1 Voting Continues in J&K for First-Ever Assembly Polls in 10 Yrs After Bifurcation

Jammu: Voting continues for the first phase assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

This is the first election in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. It also the first poll to elect an assembly in the last 10 years.

Voters in 24 constituencies in seven districts of the Union Territory are voting in Phase 1 amid tight security arrangements. The Centre abrogated Article 370, that gave special status to J-K, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two UTs – J-K and Ladakh — on August 5, 2019.

The polling began at 7 am. Seven districts in Jammu and Kashmir, located on either side of the Pir Panjal range are voting on Tuesday.

Over 23 lakh voters are expected to participate, deciding the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 independents. The voting is underway in eight assembly segments in three districts of Jammu and 16 in four districts of Kashmir.

According to the Election Commission, 23,27,580 eligible voters will participate in this phase, comprising 11,76,462 males, 11,51,058 females, and 60 third-gender voters. Notably, 1.23 lakh young voters (18-19 years), 28,309 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), and 15,774 elderly voters (85+) will also cast their votes.

Polling is taking place at 3,276 stations, managed by over 14,000 staff members. Of these, 302 stations are in urban areas, while 2,974 are in rural regions. Security measures include a multi-tiered arrangement involving the Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF) and local police.

Key candidates in Kashmir include CPI(M)’s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Congress’ Ghulam Ahmad Mir, National Conference’s Sakina Itoo, and PDP’s Sartaj Madni. In Bijbehara, PDP’s Iltija Mufti faces a triangular contest against NC’s Bashir Ahmad Veeri and BJP’s Sofi Mohammad Yousuf. In Pulwama, PDP’s Waheed Para, who is implicated in a terror case, faces NC’s Mohammad Khalil Bandh and Talat Majid Alie.

In Jammu, prominent candidates include NC’s Sajjad Kitchloo, BJP’s Sunil Sharma, and Congress’ Vikar Rasool Wani. Additionally, former MLAs Daleep Singh Parihar and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, along with independent candidate Pyare Lal Sharma and BJP rebels Rakesh Goswami and Suraj Singh Parihar, are also in the race.