Voting in the first phase of the three-phase Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir has begun across 24 constituencies in seven districts today. The Union Territory is voting for the first time in an Assembly election in 10 years. This is the also first Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370, which gave the erstwhile state special status, in 2019.
It is also the first time that Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing an Assembly election as a Union Territory. When Article 370 was abrogated, the state was divided into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Over 23 lakh voters are eligible to vote for 219 candidates, including 90 independents, in eight Assembly segments in three districts of the Jammu region and 16 in four districts of Kashmir Valley. The polling is scheduled to end at 6 pm.
Polling in the remaining 66 Assembly seats will be held in the other two phases on September 25 and October 1, while the counting of the votes will take place on October 8.
