Lowest: 3 nominations in Srigufwara-Bijbehara; Highest: 16 nominations each in Pampore, Bhaderwah, & Doda
Scrutiny set for Aug 28; withdrawal of nomination on Aug 30
Srinagar, August 27: A total of 279 candidates have submitted their nomination papers across 24 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) spanning seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir for the first phase of the J&K Assembly Elections 2024. Tuesday marked the final day for filing nominations ahead of the first phase of polling, scheduled for September 18.
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) released a detailed statement outlining the distribution of candidates across the constituencies. Anantnag district saw the highest number of nominations, with 72 candidates, followed by Pulwama with 55, and Doda with 41. Kishtwar district recorded 32 nominations, while Shopian and Kulgam districts each saw 28 candidates filing. Ramban district accounted for 23 nominations.
Over 23.27 lakh voters, including 5.66 lakh youths, are eligible to participate in Phase 1 of the elections. The voter demographic includes 11.76 lakh male voters, 11.51 lakh female voters, and 60 third-gender electors.
The official notification for Phase 1 was issued on 20 August 2024, with 27 August being the deadline for nominations. The scrutiny of nomination papers is scheduled for 28 August, followed by a deadline for withdrawal on 30 August at 3:00 PM.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar emphasized the significance of these elections, stating that the democratic process in J&K is being strengthened layer by layer, with enthusiastic participation from all stakeholders. He noted the rising engagement in the region, highlighted by a 25% increase in candidate participation in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections compared to 2019.
This active participation underscores the deepening democratic spirit in Jammu and Kashmir as the region heads toward its first Assembly elections post-reorganization.
Breakdown of nominations:
Kishtwar District:
Inderwal AC: 13 candidates
Kishtwar AC: 11 candidates
Padder-Nagseni AC: 8 candidates
Doda district:
Bhadarwah AC: 16 candidates
Doda AC: 16 candidates
Doda West AC: 9 candidates
Ramban District:
Ramban AC: 13 candidates
Banihal AC: 10 candidates
In the Kashmir division:
Pulwama District:
Pampore AC: 16 candidates
Tral AC: 13 candidates
Pulwama AC: 14 candidates
Rajpora AC: 12 candidates
Shopian District:
Zainapora AC: 15 candidates
Shopian AC: 13 candidates
Kulgam District:
DH Pora AC: 6 candidates
Kulgam AC: 11 candidates
Devsar AC: 11 candidates
Anantnag District:
-Dooru AC: 12 candidates
-Kokernag (ST) AC: 11 candidates
Anantnag West AC: 14 candidates
Anantnag AC: 13 candidates
Srigufwara-Bijbehara AC: 3 candidates
Shangus-Anantnag East AC: 13 candidates
Pahalgam AC: 6 candidates
