Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024: Phase 1 logs 58.19% voter turnout, highest in Kishtwar

Phase 1 of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election has come to an end with the seven districts that went to poll logging 58.19 per cent voter turnout.

The highest turnout was recorded in Kishtwar while the lowest was recorded in Pulwama.

Kishtwar: 70.03%

Doda: 61.90%

Ramban: 60.04%

Kulgam: 50.57%

Shopian: 46.84%

Anantnag: 46.67%

Pulwama: 36.90%

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti  arrived at a polling station in Bijbehara to cast her vote.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Ramban assembly constituency, Rakesh Thakur cast his vote on Monday and exuded confidence that the BJP government will be formed in Jammu and Kashmir.

He added that the union territory has witnessed a lot of developmental work after the abrogation of Article 370 and that the BJP reached out to voters of J&K with those developments in the assembly elections.

“…After the abrogation of Article 370, a lot of development has taken place in Jammu and Kashmir and we went among the people with those development works in the elections… BJP government will be formed in Jammu and Kashmir …” said Rakesh Thakur.

In the first assembly polls in J-K since the abrogation of Article 370, enthusiastic voters queued up at polling stations to exercise their franchise in the Doda district of Jammu region, which has seen an increase in terror-related activities over the past few months.

Expressing happiness about taking part in the assembly elections to elect their government, the voters also said they hoped that the democratic exercise would be followed by the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.

Polling was underway on Wednesday in the Chenab valley districts, having over 7.14 lakh eligible voters, to decide the fate of 64 candidates in the first phase of the assembly elections. Voting was also going on in the four south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian.

Polling started at 7 am at all 1,328 polling stations set up across the eight assembly seats in the Chenab valley districts amid heavy security, as parts of the region especially Doda and Kishtwar have witnessed a spurt in terror activities since June. Six Army personnel, including two officers, lost their lives in these and four terrorists were gunned down.

Reports of a scuffle between PDP and BJP workers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district have surfaced. Earlier, it was reported that BJP candidate from Kishtwar, Shagun Parihar was heckled at the Baghwan Mohallah booth.

Voting is underway in 24 constituencies of seven districts in the first phase of the three-phased Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

More than 35,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandits from across the country are eligible to vote at 24 polling stations in the first phase of the three-phased Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

The displaced Kashmiri Pandits will exercise their right of franchise in 16 constituencies of south Kashmir’s Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts.

Jammu and Kashmir currently has 90 seats in the Assembly with Jammu having 43 seats and Kashmir having 47 seats.

There are about 3.71 lakh first-time voters in the Union Territory.

The results will be announced on October 4.

Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Shopian Assembly constituency, Javaid Ahmad Qadri on Wednesday said that the PM has played a big role in improving the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

With voting for first phase of polls in Jammu and Kashmir commenced this moning, Qadri said that people in large numbers have been coming to cast their votes.

More than 35,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandits from across the country are eligible to vote at 24 polling stations in the first phase of the three-phased Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir.

This phase will decide the fate of 219 candidates across seven districts.

The displaced Kashmiri Pandits will exercise their right of franchise in 16 constituencies of south Kashmir’s Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts.

“As many as 35,500 Kashmiri migrant voters are eligible to cast their votes at 24 special polling stations set up in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi tomorrow for the first phase of elections,” Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Arvind Karwani earlier told PTI.

Karwani, who is supervising the election process, said 34,852 such voters are registered in Jammu to exercise their right of franchise in 19 polling stations here. Similarly, 648 such Kashmiri migrant voters are registered in Udhampur and Delhi to cast their votes at a polling station in Udhampur and four such polling stations in Delhi, he said.

Besides, there are six candidates from the community contesting in the first phase of elections. Sanjay Saraf is contesting from the Anantnag seat as a Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJSP) candidate, BJP’s Vir Saraf, Apni Party’s MK Yogi, and Dileep Pandita, an independent, are in the fray from the Shangus-Anantnag seat.

Rosy Raina and Arun Raina are contesting as the Republic Party of India and NCP candidates from the Rajpora and Pulwama seats.

Around 23.27 lakh voters, including 5.66 lakh youths, will decide the fate of leaders such as Iltija Mufti (37), the daughter of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting from Srigufwara-Bijbehara, AICC general secretary and two-time minister Gulam Ahmed Mir (Dooru), four-time MLA and veteran CPIM leader M Y Tarigami (Kulgam), former ministers — Congress’ Pirzada Sayeed (Anantnag) and NC’s Sakina Itoo (D H Pora).

— Inputs from PTI

The Jammu North assembly seat is set to witness a tough electoral battle between the BJP and the National Conference (NC), with BJP candidate and former minister Sham Lal Sharma making last-ditch efforts to sway voters in a bid to secure a hat-trick for his party.

Undeterred by two consecutive poll losses in the Marh assembly segment, former minister and NC candidate Ajay Sadhotra is trying his luck from Jammu North, formerly Raipur Domana, in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.

Both candidates have shifted from their traditional constituencies — Sadhotra from Marh and Sharma from Akhnoor — after these two segments were reserved for Scheduled Castes.

Amid the first phase of voting in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Altaf Thakur said that J&K has changed and people want to get their voices heard through democracy.

He further added that the people in J&K have now rejected terrorism and want to instead express themselves through the ballot paper.

“People are very excited and have been standing in long queues to cast their votes since 6 am. Jammu and Kashmir has changed. People want to get their voices heard through democracy. Kashmir has now rejected terrorism, separatism, bombs, grenades and bullets and has chosen the ballot paper and wants to express itself through the ballot paper,” said Altaf Thakur.

Former president of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Vikar Rasool Wani was among the early voters to cast their ballot at a polling station here in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district on Wednesday.

Wani, a former minister who won the Banihal constituency seat in the 2008 and 2014 elections, expressed confidence in securing the seat for a third consecutive term.

He faces competition from six other candidates, including National Conference’s Sajjad Shaheen, PDP’s Imtiyaz Shan, and BJP’s Mohd Saleem Bhat.

“Who is at fault that assembly elections are taking place in J&K after a gap of 10 long years? BJP is responsible for this otherwise the elections should have taken place in 2019,” the Congress leader told PTI after casting his vote at Tulbagh-Rallu polling station.

The first phase of voting in Jammu and Kashmir saw a cumulative voter turnout of 11.11 per cent as of 9 am on Wednesday, as per the Election Commission of India.

According to the latest data issued by ECI, Kishtwar recorded a voter turnout of 14.83 per cent as of 9 am taking the lead while Pulwama recorded 9.18 per cent voter turnout.

Anantnag recorded 10.26 per cent, Doda 12.90 per cent, Kulgam 10.77 per cent, Ramban 11.91 per cent and Shopian 11.44 per cent voter turnout as of 9 am, as per the ECI.

Jammu and Kashmir is holding Assembly elections after a decade. The first phase of the polls is being held today (September 18), with the remaining two phases on September 25 and October 1.

Of the 90 Assembly constituencies in J&K, voting will be held on 24 seats on Wednesday – 16 in the Kashmir province and eight in Jammu. The main parties in the fray are the National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP).

It’s a big day in Jammu and Kashmir. The erstwhile state is holding its first election in 10 years and the first since the  abrogation of Article 370 . The voting will be held in three phases and today (September 18, Wednesday) is the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

Expressing satisfaction over assembly elections being held in Jammu and Kashmir, CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami said that people of the union territory are now hoping for a change and relief.

He added that the delayed electoral process created discontent amongst the people in J&K.

“The chief election commissioner announced the electoral schedule of J&K previously. The elections happened in 2010 and 2014 and did not happen after that. The parliamentary elections happened and it was said time and again that normalcy will be created in the union territory. It is very late. There have been many problems in between. We welcome the elections. We also appreciate the centre for ensuring a level playing field and tight security arrangements. The electoral process has started and without it a vacuum was created. In the absence of polls, bureaucracy was gaining more power. People’s troubles were increasing every day. It was difficult to deal with daily problems. Now we are hoping for a change for relief and better days,” said the CPI (M) leader.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday urged voters in Jammu and Kashmir to remember who is responsible for the “travesty” of downgrading a state to a Union Territory when they cast their vote.

Kharge asserted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are eager to safeguard their rights and embark on a new era of true development and full statehood.

Voting began for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first time since the abrogation of Article 370, as 24 constituencies spread over seven districts of the Union Territory went to polls in Phase 1 amid tight security arrangements.

More than 35,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandits from across the country are eligible to vote at 24 polling stations in the first phase of the three-phased Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

Polling is set to be held on Wednesday in 24 Assembly constituencies of seven districts to decide the fate of 219 candidates.

The displaced Kashmiri Pandits will exercise their right of franchise in 16 constituencies of south Kashmir’s Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts.

“As many as 35,500 Kashmiri migrant voters are eligible to cast their votes at 24 special polling stations set up in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi tomorrow for the first phase of elections,” Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Dr Arvind Karwani told PTI.