First Phase of Controversial Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections Underway

The first phase of the contentious Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections has commenced, with polling underway in 24 constituencies. Of the 90 assembly seats, today’s voting involves 219 candidates across these constituencies.

Polling is taking place in eight seats in the Doda, Ramban, and Kishtwar regions, as well as 16 seats in Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam districts. Approximately 2,327,580 eligible voters across seven districts are expected to cast their ballots.

A workforce of 14,000 polling staff has been assigned to manage the election process, which started at 7 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m.

This marks the first state elections in almost a decade, with preparations also underway to include votes from 35,000 Kashmiri Pandits. The previous assembly was a coalition between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).