J&K Assembly Elections 2024 Highlights: Pakistan doing 'balle-balle' over Congress-NC alliance in J&K, says PM Modi

The Jammu North assembly seat is set to witness a tough electoral battle between the BJP and the National Conference (NC), with BJP candidate and former minister Sham Lal Sharma making last-ditch efforts to sway voters in a bid to secure a hat-trick for his party. Undeterred by two consecutive poll losses in the Marh assembly segment, former minister and NC candidate Ajay Sadhotra is trying his luck from Jammu North, formerly Raipur Domana, in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
Both candidates have shifted from their traditional constituencies - Sadhotra from Marh and Sharma from Akhnoor - after these two segments were reserved for Scheduled Castes.

The other candidates who are in the fray include Darshan Kumar Magotra of PDP, Sunita Turki of National Democratic Party, Mohit of the National Awami Unity Party, and Maheshwar Singh of DPAP.

Besides, BJP rebel and former MLA Shiv Dev Singh is also contesting from Jammu North as an independent. There are nine candidates in the fray, including a woman.

In Jammu, where the BJP and Congress hold significant influence, a range of political veterans and former ministers are contesting for key positions. Among the prominent candidates are Sajjad Kitchloo and Khalid Najid Suharwardy from the National Conference (NC), Vikar Rasool Wani of Congress, and Abdul Majid Wani from the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).

Sunil Sharma represents the BJP, while Shakti Raj Parihar is running from Doda West. Notably, Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, a three-time MLA, is running as an independent candidate after being denied a ticket by DPAP. Saroori had previously left Congress two years ago in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad.

This election will be a critical contest as these political figures challenge the dominance of the BJP and Congress in the region.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 23,27,580 voters are eligible to vote in this phase, consisting of 11,76,462 male voters, 11,51,058 female voters, and 60 third-gender electors. To ensure smooth voting, 3,276 polling stations have been established, with approximately 14,000 polling staff deployed across the Union Territory.

This phase is seen as crucial in shaping the political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir, and all eyes will be on how voters respond after a decade-long gap since the last assembly election.

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is set for its first phase of polling on Wednesday, marking the first assembly elections in the region in a decade. Over 23 lakh eligible voters will cast their ballots to determine the future of 219 candidates contesting 24 assembly seats, including 90 independent candidates.

Voters from seven districts, spread across both sides of the Pir Panjal mountain range, will participate. The election is expected to be significant, especially with eight assembly segments in the Jammu region and 16 in the Kashmir valley going to the polls.