The 24 assembly seats voting in phase 1 of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir have recorded about 61 per cent voter turnout until 11.30 pm on September 18, the Election Commission of India said.
This number will likely be revised upwards. Highest voting was recorded in Inderwal seat with about 82 per cent followed by Kishtwar seat, with with about 78 per cent voter turnout, according to the poll panel.
The tentative voter turnout for the 24 assembly seats spread over seven districts was just above 61 per cent at 11.30 pm. This figure may go up slightly as some of the polling stations are located in remote areas of the Pir Panjal Mountain range.
Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing first assembly election in ten years with first phase held peacefully in Union Territory (UT) on September 18. The last assembly poll was held in the erstwhile state in 2018.
This election also marks the beginning of three-phase assembly polls – the first such exercise in the erstwhile state since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The 24 constituencies voting today are spread across Pir Panjal - 16 in Kashmir and eight in Jammu region.
Voting began at 7 am and continued until 6 pm, the Election Commission of India said.
In 2014 assembly elections, Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP had won 11 seats of the 24 seats voting today. The BJP and Congress four each while the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference and CPI(M) had one one seat each.
As many as 219 candidates are competing in the first phase. Overall, 23,27,580 electors are eligible to vote, according to the poll panel. Overall 14,000 polling staff are overseeing the process at 3,276 polling stations in the first phase.
Important Constituencies
The constituencies that voted on September 18 included Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, Pahalgam – all in South Kashmir, once a militancy hot bed.
In Jammu region, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban, and Banihal seats voted on Wednesday.
Congress-NC alliance
The Congress and the NC are fighting the elections in alliance. The PDP, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), People’s Conference, to name a few, are other parties in the fray.
The PDP-BJP government formed after 2014 assembly elections could not last the full 6-year term as BJP withdrew its support to former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2018.
Since then, the erstwhile state has been under central rule.
Key Candidates
Prominent candidates from Kashmir whose fate was sealed in EVMs on Wednesday includd CPI-M's Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who is seeking a fifth consecutive term from Kulgam seat and Congress party's Ghulam Ahmad Mir from Dooru seat in Anantnag
PDP's Iltija Mufti, daughter of party chief Mehbooba Mufti, contested from family bastion Srigufwara-Bijbehara seat. Waheed-Ur-Rehman Para of the PDP was the candidate from Pulwama assembly seat. Para lost Lok Sabha Elections 2024 from Srinagar parliamentary seat.
The two more phases will be held on September 25 and October 1. The votes will be counted on October 8.
Catch all LIVE UPDATES on Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Phase 1 here
Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: Inderwal records 82 % voter turnout
Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: The 24 assembly seats voting in phase 1 of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir have recorded about 61 per cent voter turnout until 11.30 pm on September 18, the Election Commission of India said.
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Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: The poll panel released f data on phase 1 polls. According to Chief Electoral Officer PK Pole, the approximate final result was 58.85 percent voter turnout at 7.30 pm. Kishtwar registered the highest voter turnout, 77.23 percent, followed by Doda (69.33), Ramban (67.71), Kulgam (61.57), Anantnag (54.17), Shopian (53.64), and Pulwama (46.03).
Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: 58.85% voter turnout in Phase 1, highest in Kishtawar at 77.23%
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Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: The Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 expelled a district unit president and several other leaders from its basic membership, reported Hindustan Times.
This latest development occurred as the party leaders decided to contest the assembly elections as independent, which contravened the spirit of the party’s alliance with the National Conference (NC).
A spokesperson for the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) said, as HT quoted, “We will not tolerate any breach of alliance unity."
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Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti arrived at a polling station in Bijbehara to cast her vote, news agency PTI reported.
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J&K assembly election 2024 live updates: Jammu and Kashmir L-G Manoj Sinha called upon upon all the voters whose assembly constituencies are voting in the first phase today to turn out in record numbers and exercise their democratic rights. "I especially urge youth, women and first-time voters to vote in large numbers," Sinha wrote on X.
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Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: The 24 seats voting in phase 1 of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir have recorded 11 per cent voter turnout until 9 am. Inderwal seat in Jammu recorded the highest voter turnout so far at 16 per cent voting followed by Kishtwar, again on Jammu, with 15 per cent voter turnout
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Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: In 2014 assembly polls, PDP had won 11 seats of the 24 seats voting today. The BJP and Congress four each while the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference and CPI(M) had one one seat each.
If one takes the delimitation 2022 in consideration, the PDP had won 21 assembly seats in 2014 corresponding to to the post-delimitation seats voting in the first phase today.
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Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 Live: A long queue of voters witnessed at a polling booth in Pulwama, as they await their turn to cast a vote.
Polling for 24 Assembly constituencies across Jammu & Kashmir -16 in Kashmir and 8 in Jammu - begins - ANI
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24 seats across the J&K – 16 in Kashmir and 8 in Jammu – are voting in the first phase today. This marks the first assembly elections in the region since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 - ANI
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