Phase 2 for 26 seats in 6 J&K election districts today.

61.13% voter turnout in the first phase polling in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly poll which was held on 24 constituencies in 7 districts election.

Jammu and Kashmir assembly election: As many as 26 assembly constituencies spread over six districts of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir will vote on September 25 in the second phase of assembly election to seal the fate of 239 candidates.

Polling will start at 7am and will go on till 6pm, with over 2.5 million voters expected to exercise their franchise across six districts-three in the Kashmir Valley and three in Jammu division. This is the first assembly poll in the restive region since its special status and statehood were scrapped five years ago.

10 points on phase 2 of J&K assembly Election

All states have now ramped up security to ensure that the voting takes place without any violent outbursts. Many of the assembly constituencies are along the LoC with Pakistan, and the administration believes that there is less likelihood of cross-border shelling by both the countries as they had declared a ceasefire some time ago.
Three out of the six districts, namely, Reasi, Rajouri, and Poonch, have suffered back-to-back terror attacks in the last three years.
The most volatile eleven seats are the hill districts, which have faced over a dozen terror attacks since 2021, the latest of which is the brutal attack on a pilgrimage bus in Reasi.
The 26 constituencies to be electing their new MLA’s are- Kangan (ST), Ganderbal, Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habbakadal, Lal Chowk, Channapora, Zadibal, Eidgah, Central Shalteng, Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib, Chrar-i-Sharief, Chadoora, Gulabgarh (ST), Reasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Kalakote-Sunderbani, Nowshera, Rajouri (ST), Budhal (ST), Thannamandi (ST), Surankote (ST), Poonch Haveli and Mendhar (ST).
Some of the key candidates in phase 2 are former chief minister Omar Abdullah, BJP J&K chief Ravinder Raina and JKPCC president Tariq Hamid Karra.
Omar Abdullah will contest the polls from two assembly seats – Ganderbal and Budgam, while Karra is contesting from Central Shalteng. J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina is contesting the polls from Nowshera in Rajouri, a seat he has held since 2014.
The richest contestant is J&K Apni party chief Altaf Bukhari whose wealth stands over ₹165 crore. He is contesting from Channapora seat in Srinagar and is pitted against PDP’s Mohammed Iqbal Trumboo, National Conference’s Mushtaq Guroo, and BJP’s Hilal Ahmad Wani.
The campaign discourse mainly remained around terrorism, abrogation of Article 370 and restoration of statehood, as well as the resumption of dialogue with Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute.
Defence minister of Pakistan Khawaja Asif’s utterance on Article 370 and the Congress-NC alliance, gave the fresh ammunition to BJP to attack the alliance and accuse them of being “same page” with the neighbouring country.
The Government of India has invited a delegation of foreign diplomats to visit the Union Territory to have a firsthand account of polling, in an effort to show the democratic transition in J&K.