The first phase of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir took place on Wednesday, with 24 out of the 90 seats in the Union territory going to the polls. These are the first Assembly elections since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Polling took place in seven districts: Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian.
As of 8.55 pm, the turnout was 59.4%, showed data from the Election Commission. Kishtwar district registering the highest turnout at 79.3% and Pulwama the lowest at 46.6%.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge urged people in Jammu and Kashmir to vote in large numbers.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also urged voters to exercise their “democratic right”. In a post on X, the Congress leader said: “For the first time in the history of the country, the statehood of a state has been taken away and it has been made a Union territory.”
He added that this was an insult to Jammu and Kashmir, and a violation of the constitutional rights of its people.
“Your every vote for INDIA will ensure return of your rights, will bring employment, will make women strong, will bring you out of the ‘era of injustice,’” he said.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray are the Peoples Democratic Party’s...
