J&K Heads To Polls: First Assembly Elections In 10 Years Since Article 370 Revocation

Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are set to take place for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370, with the Union Territory voting in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1.

The counting of votes will be held on October 4, alongside the results for Haryana, which will hold its elections on October 1.

This marks the first Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade, and the Union Territory has been without an elected government for seven years since the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition in 2018.

A delimitation exercise post-Article 370 abrogation increased the number of Legislative Assembly seats from 83 to 90, with six new seats for Jammu and one for Kashmir.

The total number of seats, including 24 reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, has risen from 107 to 114.

For the first time, the Kashmiri migrant community will be represented in the Assembly.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, allows the Lieutenant Governor to nominate three members to the Assembly, including two from the Kashmiri migrant community (one being a woman) and one representative from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who took refuge in India after 1947.

The last Assembly elections in 2014 saw a four-way contest among the National Conference, Congress, Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), and BJP for 87 seats.

Mehbooba Mufti's PDP emerged as the single-largest party with 28 seats, followed by the BJP with 25 seats. The PDP and BJP formed a coalition government, but the National Conference and Congress, which had contested separately, won 15 and 12 seats, respectively.

While Assembly elections have not been held since 2014, Jammu and Kashmir conducted District Development Council (DDC) and Block Development Council (BDC) elections in 2020, along with the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

The Lok Sabha polls earlier this year saw high voter turnout, with the BJP and National Conference each winning two seats, and the Baramulla seat going to jailed independent leader Engineer Rashid. The vote shares were 24.36% for the BJP, 22.3% for the NC, 19.38% for the Congress, and 8.48% for the PDP.