The Union Territory has a total of five Parliamentary constituencies. In Ladakh, which has just one Parliamentary seat, the election will take place in the fifth phase on May 20. The Supreme Court had directed the conduct of an Assembly election in J&K by September 30, 2024, as the first step in the restoration of statehood. However, due to security concerns, the Assembly elections cannot be held together with the Lok Sabha elections.
Number of constituencies: 5
Names of constituencies:
1. Udhampur
2. Jammu
3. Anantnag
4. Srinagar
5. Baramulla
The Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is Manoj Sinha. He took charge as the LG of J&K on the 7th of August, 2020. Manoj Sinha is a seasoned politician from Uttar Pradesh and a trained Civil Engineer with degrees of B.Tech and M-Tech from IIT (BHU) Varanasi. He is a three-time Member of Parliament and has served as the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications until 2019.
Polling Schedule and Constituencies:-
The polling will unfold in five phases:
Phase 1: Udhampur (April 19)
Phase 2: Jammu (April 26)
Phase 3: Anantnag (May 7)
Phase 4: Srinagar (May 13)
Phase 5: Baramulla (May 20)
Number of voters:
The UT has 86.9 lakh voters including 44.34 lakh men and 42.55 lakh women registered in Jammu and Kashmir. The number also included 67,400 persons with disabilities and 158 transgenders, including 3.4 lakh first-time voters with around 1.35 lakh female first-time voters.
Contesting parties:
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.), National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and Jammu and Kashmir Third Front.
I.N.D.I. Alliance:
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (JKPDP) and Indian National Congress (INC).
JKNC is led by Omar Abdullah and it is contesting on 3 seats. JKPDP is led by Mehbooba Mufti and is also contesting 3 seats. In J&K, INC is led by Gulam Ahmed Mir and is contesting on 2 seats.
NDA:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting on all 5 seats. Dr. Jitendra Singh
J&K Third Front:
Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC).
DPAP is led by Ghulam Nabi Azad, JKAP is Altaf Bukhari’s party, and JKPC is led by Sajjad Lone.
Key issues:
– Restoration of Article 370 & Statehood
– Assembly elections
-Outsourcing of mining, sand extraction, and liquor contracts (Jammu)
2019 Lok Sabha Results:
BJP candidate Dr. Jitendra Singh won from Udhampur garnering 724311 votes. BJP defeated INC Vikramaditya Singh who got 367059 votes.
The BJP secured 61 percent.
Out of a total of 1,182,680 voters, there was a voter turnout of 70.15%. Dr. Singh secured 724,311 votes, which is 43% of the total electors and 61% of the total votes polled.
The runner-up was Vikramaditya Singh from the INC. He secured 367,059 votes, which is 22% of the total electors and 31% of the total votes polled.
Other candidates included Harsh Dev Singh from the JKNPP and Lal Singh from the DSSP. They secured 24,319 and 19,049 votes respectively, each accounting for 1% of the total votes polled. Despite the competition, the voter preference was clear, leading to Dr. Jitendra Singh’s victory.
Key factors:
Development of Infrastructure, restoration of peace
2019 MPs till abrogation of Article 370 and LG administration in place
1. Udhampur MP: Dr Jitendra Singh (BJP)
2. Jammu MP: Jugal Kishore Sharma (BJP)
3. Anantnag MP: Hasnain Masoodi (JKNC)
4. Srinagar MP: Farooq Abdullah (JKNC)
5. Baramulla MP: Mohd Akbar Lone (JKNC)
Electors: 72,02,163 (including Ladakh)
Votes Polled: 35,52,622
Turnout: 49.3%