A representative image of a person casting vote.
Credit: PTI File Photo
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections 2024 are to be held in three phases. This is the first time J&K is holding Assembly elections since 2014.
The first phase of J&K Assembly polls were held on September 18, and a voter turnout of 61 per cent was recorded. The next two phases of voting are scheduled to take place on September 25 and October 1 and the counting will be held on October 8.
On this note, let us take a look at how the state voted in the first-ever election:
Jammu and Kashmir’s first Assembly polls were held in March-June 1957, for 75 seats, under its own Constitution. The National conference won all the 75 seats and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was appointed as the Prime Minister.
The Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was dissolved in January 1957 after passing the state's constitution. Elected in 1951, the Assembly also served as the legislature for the six years that it was in office.
The polls were conducted by the The State's Franchise Commission, wherein voting in the Jammu Division was held on March 25 followed by Kashmir Valley on March 30. Voting for the remaining seven seats took place in May due to snow-bound conditions. The results were declared on June 3.
The Kashmir Valley received 43 of the Legislative Assembly's 75 seats, Jammu received 30, and Ladakh received only 2 seats. The election irregularities which were first witnessed in the 1951 Constituent Assembly elections somewhat continued. The National Conference won 30 seats in the Valley with no opposition; 10 more seats were declared elected when the opposing candidates' nomination papers were rejected.
Voting for the remaining 28 seats were held on March 20 inclusive of 20 seats in Jammu and 8 in the Kashmir Valley.
Assembly Elections 2024 | In the first assembly polls since the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP face a rejuvenated and vindicated Opposition in the Haryana assembly polls. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is voting after almost a decade and it remains to be seen how the abrogation of Article 370 has impacted the political landscape of the Valley. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.