Voting commenced at 7.00 AM in Phase 1 of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024, marking the first such polls since the abrogation of Article 370. J&K Assembly elections are being held after ten years in the Union Territory without any representative being elected from Ladakh, which was bifurcated from J&K and made a separate UT after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
The first phase covers 16 seats in Kashmir Valley and eight seats in Jammu region. Assembly elections are being held in the erstwhile state in three phases. The other two phases will be held on September 25 and October 1. The results will be announced on October 8. As many as 219 candidates are competing in the first phase of voting.
The last Legislative Assembly Elections were conducted in 2014. Bhartiya Janta Party and J&K People’s Democratic Party formed a coalition government with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as Chief Minister in 2015.
In 2016, Mehbooba Mufti became the Chief Minister after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s death in February 2016. Mehbooba Mufti resigned as Chief Minister after the BJP withdrew support on June 19, 2018. Since then J&K has been under Governor’s Rule.
On August 5, 2019, the J&K Reorganisation Act was promulgated after its passage in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and special status was withdrawn.
Now Lieutenant Governors have been posted in J&K and Ladakh with more powers. Ladakh is without a Legislative Assembly and will not have its elected representatives in J&K Assembly or the Legislative Council, which has been abolished.
The Congress-National Conference Alliance before the elections will be an interesting combination to watch. At least 44 percent contesting candidates are independents and if elected, they will influence the formation of the government after the results are declared on October 8, 2024.
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