The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that Jammu and Kashmir, now a Union Territory (UT), will hold its elections in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, 2024. The results will be declared on October 8, along with the results of the Haryana Assembly elections.
This is the first election to be held in the valley since Article 370 was repealed and the region’s “special status” was revoked, halting political activities for five years.
The last Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections were held in 2014, but the government fell in 2018 when the BJP withdrew its support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration of Mehbooba Mufti.
In addition, elections for the District Development Council (DDC) were also held at the end of 2020.
The Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year saw an encouraging voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir at 58.46 per cent, the highest in 35 years.
Key information about Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024:
Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2024: Assembly Constituencies
Jammu and Kashmir now has 90 constituencies. The BJP plans to contest the elections independently, while the National Conference (NC) and the Congress have formed an alliance. Under this alliance, the NC will contest elections in 51 seats, the Congress in 32 and there will be “friendly contests” in five constituencies. In addition, one seat each has been allotted to the CPI(M) in south Kashmir and the Panthers Party in the Jammu division.
J&K Elections 2024: Which parties are contesting?
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
The BJP is aiming to gain ground in India’s only Muslim-majority legislature, and has announced 45 candidates for the region’s 90 seats. It is not clear whether the BJP will contest all the seats, but no alliances have been announced so far.
Since the abrogation of Article 370, the BJP has been active in local elections for grassroots posts, but has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Although not officially aligned with any party, the BJP has supported several “independent” candidates or local parties that agree with its stance on Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the revocation of the region’s special status.
During the 2020 DDC elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 75 of the 280 available seats. It won six councils in the Jammu region, but failed to win any in Kashmir.
On the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s main opposition, the Inclusive National Alliance for the Development of India (INDIA), was unable to unite against the party. While the NC and the PDP contested each other for the three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP focused on Ladakh, Udhampur and Jammu, where it took on the Congress. This strategy worked: the BJP won both Jammu seats, while an independent candidate, Mohmad Haneefa, won in Ladakh, leaving the Congress with no win.
For the upcoming elections, the BJP had initially fielded 44 candidates, including several Muslims from the Pir Panjal valley. However, following protests by party workers who felt that “traitors” were being favoured at the expense of loyal members, the party made minor changes and replaced Rohit Dubey with Baldev Raj Sharma for the Vaishno Devi seat.
The BJP is yet to announce a candidate for Nowshera, which was previously won by its state chief Ravinder Raina in 2014 and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta in 2019.
INDI Alliance – North Carolina and Congress
In 2020, when prominent leaders from Jammu and Kashmir were released after a year of detention, Congress chief in Jammu and Kashmir Taj Mohiudin attended a meeting of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) at the residence of NC veteran Farooq Abdullah. This resulted in a formal alliance between six political parties – NC, PDP, CP, Congress, CPI(M) and the National Awami Conference (ANC) – to continue the struggle for Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Initially, the Congress distanced itself from the PAGD but later joined the alliance for electoral purposes, resulting in a victory in the DDC elections where the coalition won 110 of the 280 seats.
The Congress subsequently formalised the alliance under the INDIA umbrella in July 2023, bringing together NC, PDP and CPI(M). Though NC and PDP criticised Congress for prioritising state elections in other regions instead of building a united opposition for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, they eventually agreed on a seat-sharing arrangement for the Assembly elections on August 27. NC will contest 51 seats, Congress 32, with one seat each to CPI(M) and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party.
The NC manifesto promises to work towards restoring Articles 370 and 35A, restoring statehood, repealing post-2019 laws affecting Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, providing jobs to all unemployed residents, releasing political prisoners, promoting dialogue between India and Pakistan, limiting land ownership to residents and repealing the Public Safety Act (PSA). The first list of 32 candidates includes Omar Abdullah, who will contest from Ganderbal, reversing his earlier stance of not contesting until statehood is restored.
The Congress has released its first list of nine candidates, with party general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir contesting from Dooru and former state unit chief Vikar Rasool Wani contesting from Banihal. With its most prominent leader in Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad, on the way out, the Congress is banking on former chief Rahul Gandhi to mobilise its base. During his recent visit to Srinagar, Gandhi emphasised the importance of restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, saying, “Ruling Kashmir and Jammu from Delhi is meaningless.”
The PDP’s external support agenda
Though the PDP has left the INDI alliance, Mehbooba Mufti has stated that she will continue to support them if they adopt the PDP agenda. The party manifesto reflects many of the NC’s promises including restoration of statehood, upholding dialogue between India and Pakistan, improving connectivity along the Line of Control (LoC) for trade and social exchange, repealing the PSA and re-examining “unfair” dismissals. The manifesto also pledges to repeal other central laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Enemy Act.
Despite its support for the INDIA coalition, the PDP has released a list of 21 candidates, some of whom will contest against NC candidates. Mufti has decided not to contest re-election from Anantnag, but his daughter Iltija will make her electoral debut from the Bijbehara constituency. The PDP has ruled out any alliance with the BJP, calling the Congress-NC alliance “power-hungry”.
PC Party, DPAP and Apni
Three other notable parties in the race are Sajjad Lone’s J&K People’s Conference (CP), former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPAP) and Altaf Bukhari’s J&K Apni Party.
Lone quit the PAGD in 2021 over the rivalry between NC and PDP, alleging that his party was sidelined during seat-sharing negotiations in the DDC elections. In this year’s Lok Sabha elections, he challenged Abdullah for the Baramulla seat, reducing NC’s share by 173,000 votes, leading to Rashid’s victory. So far, his party has announced seven candidates for the Assembly elections.
Azad, who quit the Congress in 2022 due to his dissatisfaction with the party’s revival efforts, launched the DPAP to enter Jammu and Kashmir politics. Recognising the new reality of Kashmir without a special status, he campaigned in the Lok Sabha elections on three issues – statehood, development and criticism of Abdullah and Mufti’s politics. His party did not win any seats, polling only 80,264 votes in the three constituencies it contested. However, the DPAP fielded 13 candidates for the Assembly elections.
Altaf Bukhari, one of the few politicians from Jammu and Kashmir not to be arrested in 2019, broke away from the PDP along with 30 other leaders to found the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party. The party’s key demands include restoration of statehood, restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s residency rights and extension of Article 371 of the constitution to the region. The party did well in the DDC elections, where it won 12 seats. It has now fielded 24 candidates, with Bukhari himself contesting the Chanapora seat.
Other parties in the race
Smaller parties like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), remnants of the J&K People’s Movement (JKPM) and the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), as well as several independent candidates, are also contesting the upcoming polls.
Importance of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections
These Assembly elections are the first to be held since the state was bifurcated into two Union Territories and its special status was revoked. Ahead of the elections, the ECI conducted a delimitation process in 2022, designating 43 seats in the Jammu region and 47 in the Kashmir Valley. In addition, nine seats (three in Kashmir and six in Jammu) were reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.
In 2023, Parliament passed several bills amending J&K’s reservation policies. One-third of the seats have been reserved for women. The Valmiki community has been added to J&K’s list of scheduled castes, and the Pahari community has been included in the list of scheduled tribes.
The Pahari community, which is significant in areas like Budhal, Gulabgarh, Surankote, Rajouri, Mendhar and Thanamandi (all ST reserved seats) is now eligible to contest the elections.
List of 24 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir going to polls in the first phase
pampore
Tral
Pulwama
Rajpora
Zainapora
Shopping store
DH Pora
kulgam
Devsar
doorau
Cokernag (ST)
Anantnag West
Anantnag
Srigufwara Bijbehara
Shangus Anantnag East
Pahalgam
interior wall
Kishwar
Padder – Artist
Bhadarwah
He adds
Doda West
Ramban
Banihal
List of 26 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly constituencies going to polls in the second phase
Kangan (ST)
Balinese goose
Hazrat Bal
Janyar
Habbakadal
Lal Chowk
Channapora
Zadibal
Eidgah
Shalteng Central
Budgam
Beer
Jansahib
Chrar-i-Sharief
Chadoorah
Gulabgarh (Eastern Station)
reasi
Sri Mata Vaishno Devi
Kalakote-Sunderbani
Nowshera
Rajouri (Sri Lanka)
Budhal (ST)
Thannamandi (ST)
Surankote (Sri Lanka)
Haveli of Poonch
Mendhar (ST)
List of 40 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly constituencies going to polls in the third phase
Karna
Trehgam
kupwara
Lolab
manowara
Langate
I endured
Rafiabad
Uri
Baramulla
Gulmarg
you have shaved
Create
Break
Sonawari
Bandipora
Gurez(ST)
Udhampur West
East of Udhampur
Chenani
Ramnagar (SC)
Bani
Begin
Basohl
Jasrota
Kathua, South Carolina
Hira Nagar
Ramgarh (South Carolina)
Samba
Vijaypur
Bishnah (South Carolina)
Suchetgarh (South Carolina)
RS Pura – South Jammu
Bahu
Eastern Jammu
Nagrota
West Jammu
North Jammu
Marh (South Carolina)
Akhnoor (South)
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