The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is having the first Assembly elections after 10 ten years, was bifurcated into two Union Territories in 2019.
The first ever Assembly elections of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir got underway on Wednesday, September 18 morning with voting for the first of the three-phase polling. The phase will cover 24 constituencies spread over seven districts.
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This is also the first time that Assembly elections are taking place in Jammu and Kashmir after 10 years and after abrogation of Article 370, in 2019. After the Article’s abrogation the state of Jammu and Kashmir was carved into the two Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The remaining 66 constituencies will go to the polls on September 25 and October 1, while the counting of the votes will take place on October 8.
Over 23 lakh voters are eligible to vote for 219 candidates, including 90 independents, in eight Assembly segments in three districts of the Jammu region and 16 in four districts of Kashmir Valley. The polling is scheduled to end at 6 pm.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has appealed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to vote in "record" numbers.
"J&K Assembly elections commence today. I call upon all the voters whose assembly constituencies are voting in the first phase today to turn out in record numbers & exercise their democratic rights. I especially urge youth, women and first-time voters to vote in large numbers," he said in a post on X.
The chief contesting parties in the elections -- BJP, Congress and its ally National Conference – have promised to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Union Territory witnessed a spurt in militant violence in the run-up to the elections with three encounters taking place in the last one week that claimed the lives of two Army jawans and at least five insurgents.
