Jammu & Kashmir elections phase 1 on September 18: From Iltija Mufti to Ghulam Ahmad Mir, here are top battles, constituencies and more

After abrogation of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir is set to witness its toughest battle for power yet as voting for the first phase of Jammu & Kashmir’s Assembly elections began on Wednesday under strict security arrangements. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m., with 24 constituencies—16 in the Kashmir region and 8 in Jammu—participating in this phase of elections. The Election Commission of India confirmed that over 23 lakh voters will be deciding the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 independents.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 23,27,580 electors are eligible to vote, with 11,76,462 male, 11,51,058 female, and 60 third-gender electors. The polling will impact the political future of the candidates across seven districts in Jammu and Kashmir.

"As the first phase of voting will take place on September 18, Jammu and Kashmir police have made elaborate security arrangements for the assembly polls so that maximum number of people can exercise their right to vote," Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone V K Birdi told PTI.


The security arrangements include multi-tier forces from the Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF), Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police and J-K Police, Birdi added.

Jammu & Kashmir elections phase 1: Constituencies

The constituencies going to the polls on Wednesday include Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, Pahalgam, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban and Banihal.

Key battles to watch in Kashmir phase 1 voting

Prominent candidates in Kashmir include CPI (M)'s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, National Conference's Sakina Itoo, and PDP's Sartaj Madni and Abdul Rehman Veeri. PDP's Iltija Mufti, running from Bijbehara, is in a triangular contest with NC's Bashir Ahmad Veeri and BJP's Sofi Mohammad Yousuf.

PDP's Sartaj Madni (Devsar) and Abdul Rehman Veeri (Shangus-Anantnag) are also key candidates to watch out for.

Iltija Mufti vs Waheed Para
However, all eyes will be on Srigufwara-Bijbehara and Pulwama assembly segments where PDP's Iltija Mufti and Waheed Para are contesting polls, respectively.

Iltija Mufti, the third generation politician from her family to run for office from Bijbehara, is in a triangular contest with NC's Bashir Ahmad Veeri and BJP's Sofi Mohammad Yousuf.

However, Para -- an accused in a terror case --faces stiff challenge from his former party colleague Mohammad Khalil Bandh, who is now contesting on NC ticket. The contest here has been spiced up by the entry of a former member of banned Jamaat-e-Islami Talat Majid Alie. Tarigami also faces a similar candidate in Sayar Ahmad Reshi.

Key battles to watch in Jammu phase 1 voting

In Jammu, trying their luck are 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 after he was denied ticket by DPAP which he had joined after quitting Congress in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad two years ago.

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 in the fray.

Even as the National Conference (NC) and the Congress are in alliance, both the parties have fielded candidates in Banihal, Bhaderwah and Doda under 'friendly contest', while a rebel NC leader Pyare Lal Sharma is fighting as an independent from Inderwal and two BJP rebels, Rakesh Goswami and Suraj Singh Parihar, are also trying their luck from Ramban and Padder-Nagseni constituencies.

(with agency inputs)