Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Election 2024 Date: Assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir in three phases from September 18 next month. The results of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections will be declared on October 4. Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar announced the dates today on August 16. These assembly elections are being held in Jammu and Kashmir after many years. No assembly elections have been held in the state after 2014. This will be the first time after becoming a Union Territory that assembly elections will be held here.
When will the election be held in three phases-
First leg: September 18
Second leg: September 25
Third Phase – October 1
Results: 4 October
In the first phase, elections will be held in Pulwama, Sompian, Kulgam, Anantnag, Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts. In the second phase, voting will be held in Poonch, Rajouri, Budgam, Srinagar, Ganderbal and Reasi districts. In the third and final phase, voting will be held in Kathua district bordering Himachal and Punjab as well as Udhampur, Samba and Jammu districts, besides Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora seats in North Kashmir.
On which seats will voting take place in the first phase?
Voting will take place in the first phase in 24 (twenty four) assembly constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir. These seats are- Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, D.H. Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangas-Anantnag East, Pahalgam, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Pad Der-Nagseni, Bhaderwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban, and Banihal.
On which seats will voting take place in the second phase?
In the second phase, polling will be held in 26 (twenty six) Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Kangan (ST), Ganderbal, Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habbakadal, Lal Chowk, Channapora, Zadibal, Eidgah, Central Shalteng, Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib, Charar-e-Sharif, Chadoora, Gulabgarh (ST), Reasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Kalakote – Sunderbani, Nowshera, Rajouri (ST), Budhal (ST), Thannamandi (ST), Surankot (ST), Poonch Haveli and Mendhar (ST).
On which seats will voting take place in the third phase?
Voting will be held in 40 assembly constituencies in the third phase in Jammu and Kashmir.
Karnah, Tarehgam, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara, Langate, Sopore, Rafiabad, Uri, Baramulla, Gulmarg, Wagoora-Kreeri, Pattan, Sonawari, Bandipora, Gurez (ST), Udhampur West, Udhampur East, Chenani, Ramnagar (SC), Bani, Billawar, Basohli, Jasrota, Kathua (SC), Hiranagar, Ramgarh (SC), Samba, Vijaypur, Bishnah (SC), Suchetgarh (SC), R.S. Pura – Jammu South, Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Marh (SC), Akhnoor (SC), Chamb.
Rajiv Kumar said that the notification for 24 seats in the first phase of the 90-member Jammu Kashmir Assembly elections will be issued on August 20, the day after the Amarnath Yatra ends, and nomination papers can be filed till August 27. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on August 28 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations will be August 30. He said that in the second phase, elections for 26 seats in Jammu Kashmir will be held on September 25, for which the notification will be issued on August 29. In this phase, nominations can be filed till September 5, scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on September 6 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations will be September 9. In the third and final phase, voting will be held on October 1 for 40 seats. Notification for this will be issued on September 5 and nominations will be done till September 12. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on September 13 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations will be September 17.
A total of 11838 polling stations have been set up for the elections, and about 87.09 crore voters will come forward to elect their representatives. Rajiv Kumar said that there are a total of 87.09 lakh voters in 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, including 42.6 lakh women. Among these, 3.71 lakh will be first-time voters. There will be around 20 lakh young voters. There will be a total of 11838 polling stations. Apart from this, he told that the process of making the electoral roll is going on. The Amarnath Yatra will end on August 19 and the voter list will be released on August 20. Everyone will be given a copy of it. Security forces have been deployed to make the election process free and fair.
Seat equation in Jammu and Kashmir
The political situation in Jammu and Kashmir has also changed after August 5, 2019. After the removal of Article 370 and the reorganization of the state, Jammu and Kashmir has been declared a Union Territory. Apart from this, there are now a total of 90 assembly seats here. Earlier there were 87 seats here, out of which 4 seats were from Ladakh. In such a situation, when Ladakh became a separate Union Territory after the reorganization, only 83 seats were left in Jammu and Kashmir. Then the Election Commission added 7 seats after delimitation and now there are a total of 90 seats. Out of these, 47 seats are from Kashmir region. At the same time, there are now 43 seats in Jammu. Earlier there used to be 46 seats in Kashmir and 37 seats in Jammu region. After delimitation, 6 assembly seats increased in Jammu area and one seat was also added in Kashmir. 9 seats have been reserved for ST (Scheduled Tribe).
When was the last election held?
The last assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in November and December 2014. These elections were held for 87 seats of the state assembly. The election process was completed in several phases. The major parties were Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference and Congress.
No party got an absolute majority in the 2014 election. The PDP won 28 seats, while the BJP won 25 seats. The National Conference and Congress won 15 and 12 seats respectively. After this election, the PDP and BJP decided to form a coalition government, in which PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took over as the Chief Minister.
However, the government remained unstable due to several disagreements and differences in the coalition. After the demise of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti took over as the Chief Minister. But tensions in the coalition grew and eventually the BJP withdrew support in 2018, leading to imposition of President’s rule in the state.
Subsequently, in August 2019, the Indian Parliament revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Following this change, no assembly elections have been held in Jammu and Kashmir yet, and it is being governed by the Centre.
Several senior police officers transferred in Jammu and Kashmir
In a major reshuffle in the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday, the administration transferred several senior officers, while the intelligence wing got a new chief. The Jammu and Kashmir administration transferred senior police officers with immediate effect in three separate orders. The decision came a day after senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Nalin Prabhat was appointed Special Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police. Prabhat will take over as the chief of the force after incumbent R R Swain retires on September 30.
These developments in the police force of the Union Territory and the transfers and appointments of officers are being seen as a precursor to the assembly elections in the Union Territory. The Supreme Court had directed to hold elections here before September 30. An order issued by the government said, “In the interest of administration, it is ordered that Nitish Kumar, IPS (AGMUT: 1999) ADGP CID is appointed as the CID chief.