Voting in the first phase of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir is underway with ballots being cast in 24 of the state’s 90 constituencies.Jammu and Kashmir will see its first Assembly elections since 2014 and its first since the removal of Article 370, which gave the erstwhile state special status, in 2019.This is also the first time that Jammu and Kashmir will see an Assembly election as a Union Territory. When Article 370 was abrogated, the state was also divided into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.Statehood is a major issue in the elections and its restoration has been promised by the BJP – including by PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah – as well as the Congress and the National Conference, which are contesting the polls in an alliance.Anoter major player is Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party and other parties include Abdul Ghani Lone’s People’s Conference, Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party and Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party. An interesting development is the entry in the elections of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, which is backing some candidates. Polling is being held in four seats in Pulwama, two in Shopian, three in Kulgam, seven in Anantnag, three in Kishtwar, three in Doda and two each in Ramban and Banihal. Eight of the constituencies are in Jammu and 16 in the Kashmir valley.Pulwama is one of the constituencies where the contest is being keenly watched. PDP youth leader Waheed ur Rehman Para, who is contesting his first election is up against former party veteran Mohammad Khalil Band, who is now with the National Conference. Mr Para, 36, had campaigned for Mr Band as a youth leader from the PDP in the 2008 and 2014 elections and is on bail in a case under the stringent anti-terror act, UAPA. Mr Band, 73, is a three-time MLA.The seat is considered a PDP stronghold but the party faces an uphill battle this time, also because Talat Majeed, who is backed by the Jamaat, is contesting from there. The Jamaat is in an alliance with the Awami Ittehad Party of Engineer Rashid, who had scripted a spectacular upset with his victory over National Conference Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah in the Lok Sabha elections.
