J&K assembly election: Phase 1 voting underway in seven districts

Polling for 24 Assembly constituencies across Jammu & Kashmir (16 in Kashmir and 8 in Jammu), begins.This marks the first Assembly elections in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.This is the maiden assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir in a Union Territory setup — also the first poll to elect an assembly in the last 10 years. Voters started reaching polling station early to cast their votes.

#WATCH | J&K: A long queue of voters witnessed at a polling booth in Pulwama, as they await their turn to cast a vote.

Polling for 24 Assembly constituencies across Jammu & Kashmir (16 in Kashmir and 8 in Jammu), begins. pic.twitter.com/HcGIS0gtoA

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The Centre abrogated Article 370, that gave special status to J-K, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two UTs – J-K and Ladakh -- on August 5, 2019.Over 23 lakh voters will decide the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 Independents, who are running for 24 assembly segments -- eight in three districts of Jammu region and 16 in four districts of Kashmir valley. According to the Election Commission (EC), a total of 23,27,580 electors are eligible to vote in phase 1, comprising 11,76,462 male, 11,51,058 female, and 60 third gender electors.

All arrangements, including security related, are in place and the polling began at 7 am across the 24 assembly segments in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.In the first phase of the three-phase polls, seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir, located on either side of Pir Panjal mountain range, are voting to choose their representatives.