The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday issued a notification for 24 Assembly seats in Jammu & Kashmir, with September 18 set as the date for voting.
The development came in response to another notification from the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory urging these constituencies to elect their members according to the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951.
The seats include Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, Pahalgam, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban, and Banihal.
Candidates can file nomination papers until August 7, with scrutiny on August 28 and the last date for withdrawal set for August 30.
J&K elections are due in September as per the Supreme Court's deadline. Major political parties have launched their election campaigns to woo voters.
The main contest is between the National Conference and the BJP. The National Conference will have an edge in the Valley and Muslim-dominated districts in Jammu while the BJP has a sizeable presence in Hindu-dominated Jammu.
The BJP, which had won 25 seats in the last elections, is likely to find it a daunting task to achieve similar results this time round as seats in Jammu have increased to 43 following the delimitation exercise.
The BJP became the second-largest party after the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with 28 seats in the 2014 elections.
With the scrapping of Article 370 and issues related to rising unemployment, escalating terrorism, and inflation dominating the political discourse, the stakes are high for all major parties in J&K.
Meanwhile, the other formations, including Altaf Bukhari's JK Apni Party, Sajad Gani Lone's People’s Conference and the Awami Ittehad Party of jailed MP Engineer Rashid, are also hoping to spring a surprise in parts of north and central Kashmir.
Polling will be held from September 18 to October 1, with results out on October 4.
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