A total of 279 candidates have filed their nomination papers across 24 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) in seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir for the first phase of the Assembly elections, scheduled for September 18, 2024.
Tuesday marked the final day for filing nominations for this phase of the election. According to a statement from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, the highest number of nominations came from Anantnag district, where 72 candidates submitted their papers. Pulwama district followed with 55 nominations, while Doda district saw 41 candidates entering the fray. Kishtwar district recorded 32 nominations, with 28 each in Shopian and Kulgam districts, and 23 in Ramban district.
In Kishtwar district, 13 candidates filed nominations from 48-Inderwal AC, 11 from 49-Kishtwar AC, and 8 from 50-Padder-Nagseni AC. Doda district’s 51-Bhadarwah and 52-Doda ACs each had 16 candidates, while 9 candidates filed for 53-Doda West AC. Ramban district saw 13 candidates from 54-Ramban AC and 10 from 55-Banihal AC.
In Pulwama district, 16 candidates filed for 32-Pampore AC, 13 for 33-Tral AC, 14 for 34-Pulwama AC, and 12 for 35-Rajpora AC. Shopian district recorded 15 candidates for 36-Zainapora AC and 13 for 37-Shopian AC. Kulgam district saw 6 candidates for 38-DH Pora AC, and 11 each for 39-Kulgam AC and 40-Devsar AC.
Anantnag district saw a diverse number of candidates with 12 filing for 41-Dooru AC, 11 for 42-Kokernag (ST) AC, 14 for 43-Anantnag West AC, 13 for 44-Anantnag AC, 3 for 45-Srigufwara-Bijbehara AC, 13 for 46-Shangus-Anantnag East AC, and 6 for 47-Pahalgam AC.
This election phase will witness over 23.27 lakh eligible voters, including 11.76 lakh male voters, 11.51 lakh female voters, and 60 third-gender electors. Among them, 5.66 lakh are youth voters who will cast their ballots in this significant electoral exercise.
The notification for Phase 1 was issued on August 20, 2024, and the nomination papers will undergo scrutiny by the respective Returning Officers on August 28, 2024. Candidates wishing to withdraw their nominations must do so by August 30, 2024, before 3:00 PM, after which the final list of validly nominated candidates will be confirmed for the electoral contest.
