New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 will be held from September 18 to October 1, the Election Commission of India announced on Friday. Voting will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will be held on October 4. This is the first Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir after it became a Union Territory.
The announcement of the election schedule in Jammu and Kashmir came after an Election Commission delegation led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar visited the Union Territory earlier this month to review the preparedness of the administration as well as the security agencies for the conduct of the polls.
Jammu and Kashmir will have a total of 87.09 lakh voters this Assembly election. Of these, 44.46 lakh are male voters while 42.62 lakh are female electors.
The ECI said that Jammu and Kashmir will have 3.71 lakh first time voters this election. “There are a total of 90 Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, of which 74 are general, SC-7 and ST-9. The Amarnath Yatra will end on August 19 and the final voter list will also be published on August 20,” Kumar said.
Kumar said that the EC was committed to conducting polls in Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest and would not allow any internal or external forces derail the electoral process. “We held meetings with political parties in J&K and all of them wanted election to be held as soon as possible,” he said.
“A great enthusiasm was seen among the people. They wanted to participate in the election process. People want elections to be conducted there as early as possible…The long queues at the polling booths in J&K during the Lok Sabha elections are proof that people not only want change but also want to raise their voice by becoming a part of that change,” the CEC said on Friday while announcing the election schedule.
“The administration should be able to deal with any such situations and it is capable of that… These things will not have an impact on the elections at all. Our forces and entire administration are capable enough to deal with any situation that comes in the way. The flag of Jamhooriyat will continue,” he had assured earlier this month.
As per an order from the Supreme Court, the ECI has to complete elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30. However, the elections cannot be held due to security concerns in the Union Territory before August 19 due to the annual Amarnath Yatra which is scheduled between June 29 and August 19.
It is important to note that the last elections in the erstwhile state took place in November-December 2014. In November 2018, the Assembly was dissolved, and in 2019 the process of splitting the state into two UTs, J&K and Ladakh, started.
The delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir was notified in May 2022. As per the notification, out of the 90 Assembly Constituencies in the region, 43 will be part of Jammu region and 47 for Kashmir region keeping in view the provisions of Section 9(1)(a) of the Delimitation Act, 2002 and Section 60(2)(b) of Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019.
Voting is going for the polls in three phases in Jammu and Kashmir for its 90 Assembly seats
Nomination Filing Date: Phase 1: 27.08.2024, Phase 2: 05.09.2024, Phase 3: 12.09.2024
Scrutiny of nomination: Phase 1: 28.08.2024, Phase 2: 06.09.2024, Phase 3: 13.09.2024
Withdrawal of nomination: Phase 1: 30.08.2024, Phase 2: 09.09.2024, Phase 3: 18.09.2024
Voting Date: Phase 1: 18.09.2024, Phase 2: 25.09.2024: Phase 3: 01.10.2024
Result Counting Date: 04.10.2024
