India announces dates for first Kashmir elections since region lost special status

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - India announced on Friday that elections to the legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir will take place for the first time since the region was stripped of its special status and divided into two federally administered territories.

Rajiv Kumar, India's chief election commissioner, stated in a news conference that elections for 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in three phases, with the counting of votes scheduled for Oct. 4.

The polling will begin with the first phase on Sept. 18, followed by the second phase on Sept. 25, and the final phase concluding on Oct. 1.

Kumar noted that out of the 90 assembly seats, 74 are general, while the remaining are reserved. Approximately 12,000 polling stations will be set up at 9,169 locations across the region.

The last elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly were held in November-December 2014. However, the region has been under direct rule from New Delhi since June 19, 2018, following the collapse of a coalition government led by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti after the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew its support.

On August 5, 2019, New Delhi revoked the region's special status under Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution. The state of Jammu and Kashmir was subsequently downgraded and divided into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Notably, there is no legislative assembly in Ladakh, which shares a border with China.