Jammu and Kashmir election dates announced, read in how many phases, when and where will the voting take place?

Assembly elections are going to be held for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir after it was made a Union Territory. The Election Commission has announced the dates for these elections. The people of Jammu and Kashmir will vote on 18 September, 25 September and 1 October to elect their government for five years. Assembly elections will be held in 3 phases in the Union Territory which is sensitive from the security point of view. The results of the assembly elections will be declared on 4 October.

In the last assembly elections of Jammu and Kashmir, voting was held in five phases. In the first phase on 25 November 2014, votes were cast for 15 out of 87 seats of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. In the second phase, voting was held on 2 December for 18 seats, in the third phase on 9 December for 16 seats and in the fourth phase on 14 December for 18 seats. In the fifth and final phase, voting was held on 20 seats on 20 December. The election results were announced on 23 December 2014.

This will be the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir after 2014. In 2014, votes were cast for 87 assembly seats in the state. Then the People’s Democratic Party emerged as the largest party by winning 28 seats. At the same time, BJP won 25 seats. National Conference won 15 seats and Congress won 12 seats. In the election results, no party could reach the magic figure of 44 seats required for majority. After the announcement of the election results, the first and second-placed parties PDP and BJP formed an alliance and formed a government under the leadership of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

After the death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti took over the reins of the government but the alliance between the two parties could not last long. By the end of 2018, the paths of both the parties parted and then Governor’s rule had to be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir, which was a full state with special status. Political parties were expecting mid-term elections but it did not happen. First the elections were postponed for delimitation and then the elections could not be held due to the removal of Article 370 and making it a Union Territory. Just last year, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to conduct elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September.

These first elections after the reorganization and delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir state will be quite different from those of 2014. Earlier, elections were held for 87 seats in Jammu and Kashmir. Including 24 seats of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the total number of seats was 111. There were 37 seats in Jammu, 46 in Kashmir and 4 in Ladakh. After delimitation, now there will be 43 seats in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir. If we include 24 seats for PoK, the number of seats reaches 114. In Jammu region, one assembly seat each has been increased in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Doda and Udhampur. One seat has been increased in Kupwara, Kashmir.