JAMMU/SRINAGAR: Campaigning for the ultimate section of polling within the three-set J&Ok meeting elections ended peacefully at 6pm Sunday, marking the beginning of the necessary 48-hour silent interval earlier than voting on October 1. This spherical will cowl 40 meeting segments throughout seven districts: Jammu, Udhampur, Samba, and Kathua in Jammu area, and Baramulla, Bandipora, and Kupwara in north Kashmir.
Safety has been intensified in Kathua, Udhampur, and Samba districts following the current surge in terrorist actions.Between Could 4 and Sept 28, J&Ok recorded 22 safety drive fatalities — 4 in Kashmir valley and 18 in Jammu zone, together with J&Ok police head constable Bashir Ahmed in Kathua on September 28 and CRPF inspector Kuldeep Singh in Udhampur on August 19.
Kathua, Udhampur, and Samba fall on a key axis, serving as a conduit for terrorists getting into Kashmir valley. The distant and rugged terrain — together with dense vegetation within the higher reaches — of those districts present pure cowl for terrorists.
The electoral contest stays heated, with 415 candidates within the fray. Ajaz Ahmad Guru, brother of Afzal Guru — hanged in 2013 for his position within the 2001 Parliament assault — is contesting as an unbiased in Sopore. Ajaz sought to steer away from separatism. “I’m completely different from my brother in motion and imaginative and prescient, I want to deal with growth somewhat than separatist ideologies,” he mentioned, vowing to uphold the Structure.
Individuals’s Convention chief Sajad Gani Lone is operating from each Kupwara and Handwara. His major opponent in Kupwara is NC’s Chowdary Ramzan, a former minister. Former DDC chairperson Safina Beg is contesting from Baramulla. Different distinguished contenders embody former deputy CMs Tara Chand (Congress) and Muzaffar Beig, together with BJP’s Sham Lal and Surjit Singh Slathia.
Within the first section on Sept 18, voter turnout was recorded at 61%, adopted by 57% within the second on Sept 26. This remaining section covers crucial areas for each BJP and opposition events. Of the 40 seats, 24 fall inside the Jammu area — thought-about a BJP stronghold.
The BJP’s greatest displaying in J&Ok was in 2014 when it received 18 seats in Jammu, Udhampur, Samba, and Kathua. The get together secured a complete of 25 seats, all from the Jammu area. BJP is but to win a seat within the Kashmir valley. In distinction, PDP secured seven of the 15 seats in north Kashmir in 2014, whereas NC and Congress received three and two seats, respectively.
BJP, the Congress-Nationwide Convention (NC) alliance, and PDP fiercely debated key points similar to Pakistan, Article 370, terrorism, and reservation. These elections, the primary because the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, come after a decade-long hiatus from meeting polls in J&Ok.
PM Narendra Modi led BJP’s marketing campaign, highlighting NDA govt’s achievements over the previous decade and promising the restoration of statehood, which he reiterated is a “momentary” Union territory standing. Union residence minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president JP Nadda, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath accused Congress-NC and PDP of following a “Pakistani agenda” and selling terrorism — fees these events denied.
Congress functionaries, together with Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Sachin Pilot promised to revive statehood and supply a “people-friendly” govt. Rahul’s rallies in Jammu metropolis and Sopore targeted on reforms and progress.
Sopore, famed for its apple orchards, turned infamous for militancy within the Nineteen Nineties. Hurriyat’s hard-line separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani was thrice elected from the constituency. Voter turnout within the 2008 meeting elections was solely 19%, although participation surged to 45% within the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Election authorities have deployed greater than 20,000 employees throughout 5,060 polling stations, together with 240 particular cubicles, with 29 polling stations close to the Pakistan border. Over 39 lakh voters are eligible to forged their ballots. The outcomes can be declared on October 8.
