The first Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections after nearly a decade are just around the corner. This election is surrounded by heightened political buzz since this is the first assembly election after the abrogation of Article 370. The article, which revoked the state’s special status, has been a strong point of contention in the state’s politics.   

The first ever Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections since the abrogation of Article 370 are scheduled to take place over 3 phases. 279 candidates filed their nominations for the first phase of the elections. Out of these, the nomination of 35 candidates has been rejected. The National Conference (NC) and Congress will be jointly contesting the elections with a predetermined seat sharing arrangement following the disastrous setback in the 2014 elections, when they suffered a crushing defeat against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after contesting all the seats solo.  

What is Article 370? 

Kashmir has been a controversial area ever since partition, with both India and Pakistan claiming the region to be fully theirs, even going to war over it. Article 370 of the Indian Constitution gave special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The article allowed a certain degree of autonomy to the state, providing it with its own constitution, a seperate flag and the freedom to make its own laws.  

In 2019, the Modi-led BJP government scrapped the article, which revoked the special provisions of the state and divided Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh into seperate Union Territories under Indian Parliament. The move was opposed by the Muslim dominated Kashmir, who saw it as a deliberate attempt to change the demographic character of the region. 

As a result of the abrogation, Kashmir no longer has a separate constitution but instead has to abide by the Indian constitution much like any other state. All Indian laws are automatically applicable to Kashmiris. 

NC and Congress alliance 

Congress and the National Conference (NC) have once again formed an alliance to jointly contest the elections. The NC will be contesting 51 of the 90 assembly seats while Congress will be contesting 32 seats. Both the parties agreed to a “friendly contest” on 5 seats. Congress and NC have had a tumultuous relationship since the inaugural elections in 1947. The two parties formed a coalition government in 2008 to 2014, with NC President Omar Abdullah serving as the Chief Minister. 

Fall of NC-Congress coalition 

Congress and NC ended their alliance before the 2014 elections, with both the parties contesting all seats on their own. However, the move proved to be a major step back for the two parties as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), emerged as the largest party in the elections, earning victory on 28 seats. PDP Chief, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was elected the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, BJP made significant inroads in the Jammu region and capitalized on the Modi wave which swept the nation after the 2014 general elections. The saffron party was a close second with 25 seats with NC and Congress coming third and fourth securing 15 and 12 seats, respectively. 

PDP-BJP coalition

After the elections, BJP and PDP formed a coalition government, with Mufti Mohammed Sayeed (PDP) becoming Chief Minister for the full term of six years and BJP’s Nirmal Kumar Singh as his deputy. This move was aimed at bridging the cultural and political divide between the Muslim dominant Kashmir region (PDP stronghold) with the Hindu dominated Jammu region (BJP stronghold). 

Following Sayeed’s death in January 2016, his daughter, Mufti Mehbooba was sworn in as the Chief Minister on April 4, 2016, after extensive talks between BJP and PDP. However, BJP withdrew its support sometime later and ended the alliance with PDP. Mehbooba made history being the first woman to hold the office of Chief Minister in Jammu and Kashmir.  

The current Chief Minister, Mufti Mehbooba, will not be contesting the election this year. However, her daughter, Iltija Mufti is set to make her political debut for PDP, contesting from Bijbehara. PDP did not secure a single seat in the 2024 general elections. Mufti Mehbooba lost to NC’s Omar Abdullah in Baramulla.  

Political stances

The local parties are in stern support for the restoration of statehood for the region, which was abolished following the abrogation of Article 370 which classified Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to be Union Territories. BJP’s move was met with criticism by the locals, who believed that their autonomy and special status were unjustly revoked. Moreover, there has been a decline in public trust in the government policies which is driven by the absence of sufficient political representation and centralized power.  Congress, NC and PDP are vehemently advocating for restoration of autonomy and statehood, making it a key part of their campaign. 

The government which is to be elected faces a major problem of restoring stability and peace in the region, which has seen a surge in terror activities and separatist ideologies. Following Article 370’s abrogation, security forces were concentrated in the Kashmir valley region (Muslim), which prompted a more violent reaction than expected. However, the resulting shift of security’s focus reportedly allowed militant groups to infiltrate the Jammu region, as per intelligence reports.  

Schedule 

The polling for the assembly elections is scheduled to take place in three phases: September 18, September 25 and October 1. Jammu and Kashmir is divided into 90 assembly constituencies. In the first phase of the elections, the voting will take place in 24 constituencies across seven districts. These include:  

Phase 1 (September 18, 2024) 

• Pulwama District: Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora  
• Shopian District: Zainapora, Shopian 
• Kulgam District: D. H. Pora, Kulgam, Devsar 
• Anantnag District: Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, Pahalgam. 
• Kishtwar District: Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder–Nagseni 
• Doda District: Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West 
• Ramban District: Ramban, Banihal. 

Phase 2 (September 25, 2024) 

• Kupwara District: Karnah, Trehgam, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara, Langate 
• Baramulla District: Sopore, Rafiabad, Uri, Baramulla, Gulmarg, Wagoora–Kreeri, Pattan 
• Bandipora District: Sonawari, Bandipora, Gurez (ST) 
• Ganderbal District: Kangan (ST), Ganderbal 
• Budgam District: Budgam, Beerwah, Khan Sahib, Chrar-i-Sharief, Chadoora 

Phase 3 (October 1, 2024) 

• Srinagar District: Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habba Kadal, Lal Chowk, Chanapora, Zadibal, Eidgah, Central Shalteng 
• Reasi District: Gulabgarh (ST), Reasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi 
• Udhampur District: Udhampur West, Udhampur East, Chenani, Ramnagar (SC) 
• Kathua District: Bani, Billawar, Basohli, Jasrota, Kathua (SC), Hiranagar 
• Samba District: Ramgarh (SC), Samba, Vijaypur 
• Jammu District: Bishnah (SC), Suchetgarh (SC), R. S. Pura–Jammu South, Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Marh (SC), Akhnoor (SC), Chhamb 
• Rajouri District: Kalakote–Sunderbani, Nowshera, Rajouri (ST), Budhal (ST), Thannamandi (ST) 
• Poonch District: Surankote (ST), Poonch Haveli, Mendhar (ST) 

The votes will be counted on October 4, 2024.