J&K assembly polls phase 1: Date, time, list of constituencies | Full schedule

The stage is set for the first-ever assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir in ten years, with the first phase of polling scheduled on Wednesday, September 18. The first phase will cover 24 constituencies – 16 in Kashmir and eight in Jammu.
This will also be the first election in the union territory after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
According to the Election Commission, 219 candidates are competing in the first phase of polls. A total of 23,27,580 electors are eligible to vote in phase one – comprising 11,76,462 male, 11,51,058 female and 60 third-gender electors, it added, reported PTI. Meanwhile, a total of 14,000 polling staff will oversee the process at 3,276 polling stations, ensuring smooth conduct of the polls.
The first phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections will be held on September 18.
The second phase of polling in the union territory will be held on October 1, and the results will be declared on October 8.
A total of 24 constituencies will be going to polls in the first phase of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. These are –
The Congress and National Conference (NC) have allied for the assembly elections in the union territory. While the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), People’s Conference, and other parties are running independently.
Prominent candidates in Kashmir include CPI (M)’s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who is seeking a fifth consecutive term from Kulgam segment. All eyes will be on Srigufwara-Bijbehara and Pulwama assembly segments where PDP’s Iltija Mufti and Waheed Para are contesting polls, respectively.
Other candidates to look out for include PDP’s Sartaj Madni (Devsar), Abdul Rehman Veeri (Shangus-Anantnag), and AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir who is eying a third term from Dooru.
In Jammu, some of the key candidates include former ministers Sajjad Kitchloo (NC), Khalid Najid Suharwardy (NC) Vikar Rasool Wani (Congress), Abdul Majid Wani (DPAP), Sunil Sharma (BJP), Shakti Raj Parihar (Doda west) and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, a three-time MLA who is fighting as an independent.
Former MLA Daleep Singh Parihar (BJP), former MLC Firdous Tak and Imtiyaz Shan (PDP), NC’s Pooja Thakur, who is sitting chairperson of district development council Kishtwar, BJP’s young face Shagun Parihar, whose father Ajit Parihar and uncle Anil Parihar were killed by terrorists in November 2018, and Mehraj din Malik of AAP are among other prominent faces.
(With inputs from agencies)