As many as 26 seats across six districts of Jammu and Kashmir are voting in the second phase of assembly elections in the Union Territory today. Of the 26 seats, 15 are in the Kashmir Valley while the remaining 11 are in Jammu division.
At least seven of the 26 seats voting today gave been carved out of other constituencies, during delimitation in 2022.
In the 2014 Assembly polls, the People’s Democratic Party had won 10 of the 26 seats, while the National Conference had won eight seats. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) had won three seats and the Congress two. Eventually, the PDP-BJP government was formed with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as chief minister. Mehbooba Mufti took over after her father's Mufti Sayeed's demise. The government, however, didn't last long as BJP withdrew support in 2018.
In terms of vote share, the PDP led with 31.04 per cent in these seats , followed by the NC at 28.66 per cent, the Congress at 14.19 per cent and the BJP at 12.53 per cent, according to a report in Indian Express.
In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NC dominated in 15 assembly segments while Congress was dominant on 6 seats and the BJP on 3 seats, the Indian Express report said. In the 2024, Lok Sabha polls, the NC lead in 20 assembly seats followed by the BJP is 3 assembly segments.
Assembly elections are being held in the erstwhile state in three phases. The final phase will be held October 1. The results will be announced on October 8.
In the 2014 assembly elections, the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP won 11 out of the 24 seats voting today. The BJP and Congress won four each, while the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) and CPI (M) won one seat each. The NC and the Congress party are contesting this election in alliance.
The PDP-BJP government formed after the 2014 assembly elections could not last the full six-year term as BJP withdrew its support to former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2018.
