J-K Assembly elections 2024: Election phases and dates
Phase 1: Voting on September 18 (Wednesday) across 24 Assembly constituencies (ACs)
Phase 2: Voting on September 25 (Monday) across 26 ACs
Phase 3: Voting on October 1 (Tuesday) across 40 ACs
J-K Assembly elections 2024: Key dates
Gazette notification issue:
Phase 1: August 20
Phase 2: August 29
Phase 3: September 5
Last date for nominations:
Phase 1: August 27
Phase 2: September 5
Last date for scrutiny of nominations:
Phase 1: August 28
Phase 2: September 6
Phase 3: September 13
Last date for withdrawal of candidature:
Phase 1: August 30
Phase 2: October 9
Phase 3: August 17
Voter demographics and polling stations
Jammu and Kashmir has 90 Assembly seats distributed across 20 districts. The voter base includes over 8.7 million electors, with a nearly even split between male (4.4 million) and female (4.3 million) voters.
Notably, there are 371,000 first-time voters aged 18-19, and over two million young voters aged 20-29. Special categories of voters include 82,590 persons with disabilities (PwDs), 2,660 centenarians, 169 third-gender voters, and 73,943 voters aged above 85.
Voting will be conducted at 11,838 polling stations spread across 9,169 locations. Among these, 2,332 polling stations are in urban areas, while 9,506 are in rural regions. Each polling station is expected to serve an average of 735 voters, as per Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
Supreme Court’s ruling on J-K Assembly elections
The decision to hold these elections comes after a Supreme Court ruling that mandated the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir be conducted by 30th September 2024. This ruling followed persistent calls from regional political parties for early elections, especially considering that the region has been without an elected government since 2018. The last assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir took place in 2014, when it was still classified as a state, and involved 87 seats.
Since the revocation of its state status in 2019, Jammu and Kashmir has been divided into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The upcoming elections will therefore be the first in this new administrative structure.
Election Commission checks poll preparedness in J-K
The Election Commission has taken significant measures to ensure the region is prepared for these elections, including sending a three-member delegation to consult with stakeholders and assess the situation on the ground. Despite concerns about a recent uptick in terror activities, the poll panel said it had observed an enthusiastic response from voters in the region, signalling a strong readiness to participate in the democratic process.
First Published: Aug 16 2024 | 4:13 PM IST
