J&K Assembly elections Phase 1: 279 candidates in fray for 24 seats

J&K Assembly polls: The elections in Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1 and the counting of votes will take place on October 4

In the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, 279 candidates are contesting across 24 constituencies. Of these, 183 are vying for the 16 seats in the Kashmir Valley, and 96 are contesting the eight seats in the Jammu division.

The deadline for filing nominations for the first phase was 27 August.

The elections in Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to be held in three phases on 18 September, 25 September, and 1 October. This will mark the first election since the abrogation of Article 370, with vote counting scheduled for 4 October.

The National Conference-Congress alliance and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have each put forward candidates for all 16 seats in the Valley. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not nominated candidates in eight southern Kashmir constituencies. Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Azad Party (DAP) is contesting five Valley seats, while the Apni Party has fielded candidates on nine seats.

In the Jammu region, the NC-Congress alliance and BJP have fielded candidates for all eight seats, while the PDP has chosen not to contest in two. The Democratic Azad Party is running in four constituencies, and the Apni Party in two.

A notable development in Jammu is in the Inderwal constituency, where GM Saroori, a loyalist of Azad who did not receive a ticket from the DAP, has entered the race as an Independent candidate.

Key figures in the first phase include NC's former MP Hasnain Masoodi, Iltija Mufti (daughter of PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti), Communist leader MY Tarigami, Congress's GA Mir, and BJP's Sofi Yousuf.

In the Srigufwara-Bijbehara constituency of south Kashmir, Iltija Mufti, Sofi Yousuf, and NC’s Bashir Ahmad Veeri are the only candidates.

Meanwhile, 16 candidates each are competing in Pampore in south Kashmir, as well as in Doda and Bhaderwah in the Chenab region.

In the Jammu and Kashmir elections, the BJP has declared that it will not form alliances with any political party and will instead support strong independent candidates for the assembly seats in the Kashmir Valley where it is not fielding its own candidates.