Assembly elections in J&K after a decade, first since Article 370 abrogation While 24 seats will go to the polls in the first phase, elections will be held in 26 seats and 40 seats in the second and third phases respectively. In 2014, the Assembly polls were held in five phases.
The poll schedule announcement by the Election Commission comes months after the Supreme Court upheld the Centre’s decision to scrap J&K’s special status and directed that Assembly elections be held by September 30. No Assembly elections have been held in Jammu and Kashmir in the last decade and the UT has been without an elected government for the past seven years following the collapse of the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government in 2018.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the record participation of voters in J&K in the Lok Sabha polls is proof that people not only want change but also want to raise their voice by becoming a part of that change.
“This glimpse of hope and democracy shows that the people want to change the picture. They want to write their own destiny. The people of Jammu and Kashmir chose ballot over bullet in Lok Sabha elections,” Kumar said.
WHAT HAS CHANGED IN J&K AFTER ARTICLE 370 ABROGATION?
However, much water has flowed down the Chenab since then, including the revoking of J&K’s special status, bifurcating it into two Union Territories.
A delimitation exercise has also been carried out, increasing the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly to 90 from 83 — six additional seats for Jammu and one for Kashmir. In total, the number of seats has increased from 107 to 114, including 24 seats for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The move has drawn criticism from regional parties in J&K as it was seen favouring the BJP, which has a traditional voter base in Jammu.
Thus, the new Assembly will have 43 seats in the Jammu region and 47 in the Kashmir division. Nine seats will be reserved for Scheduled Tribes for the first time and seven for Scheduled Castes.
For the first time, there will be representation from the Kashmiri migrant community in the Assembly. As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Lieutenant Governor will nominate three members to the Assembly. It will include two from the Kashmiri migrant community, including one woman, and one member as a representative of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who had taken refuge in India after 1947.
2014 J&K ASSEMBLY ELECTION
The 2014 Assembly polls saw a four-way contest between the National Conference, Congress, Peoples’ Democratic Party, and the BJP for 87 seats. The Omar Abdullah-led National Conference failed to return to power in the polls, which saw Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP emerging as the single-largest party with 28 seats and a 23.85% vote share.
The BJP, which had finished as the runner-up with 25 seats from a 26.23% vote share, extended its support to the PDP and a coalition government was formed.
The NC and the Congress, which were allies until the 2014 election, contested separately and won 15 and 12 seats respectively. Independents had won the remaining seven seats.
However, it is not that elections have not been held in J&K since 2019. Elections for District Development Councils (DDCs) and Block Development Councils (BDCs) were held in 2020, as well as the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
J&K recorded a massive turnout in the Lok Sabha polls to five seats earlier this year, which saw the BJP and National Conference bagging two seats each. The Baramulla seat was won by independent, jailed leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, who is popularly known as Engineer Rashid. The vote shares stood at 24.36% for the BJP, 22.3% for the NC, 19.38% for the Congress, and 8.48% for the PDP.
