Elections in Jammu and Kashmir

A voter coming out after casting his vote from a polling booth of Budgam during the 4th Phase of General Election 2009 on 7 May 2009. (The raised finger indicates the indelible ink from voting)
Voters in a queue at a polling booth near Thiksey Monastery in Ladakh, JK, during the 2009 Indian general election

Elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are conducted in accordance with the Constitution of India to elect the representatives of various bodies at national, state and district levels including the 114 seat (90 seats + 24 seats reserved for Pakistan-administered Kashmir) unicameral Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the Parliament of India.[1][2] The first elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir took place between 28 November and 19 December 2020 in the form of by-elections to District Development Councils and municipal and panchayat level bodies.[3][4] A fresh delimitation process for assembly constituencies began in February–March 2020.[1][5]

Prior to 2019, the State of Jammu and Kashmir included elections to the Parliament of India, both houses of the bicameral state legislature, and various other local level bodies such as municipalities and Panchayat constituencies. There were 87 assembly constituencies and 6 Lok sabha constituencies (parliamentary constituencies) including those of Ladakh.[6][7]

Legislative assembly elections in the state have been held 11 times since 1951 whereas Parliamentary elections have been held 12 times since 1967. Municipal elections in the state have been held four times since 1947, with the October 2018 elections being the fifth time they were held.[8][9] Before becoming a state, Praja Sabha were held, with the first Praja Sabha election in 1934.[10][11]

Prior to 2019, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Indian National Congress (INC) have been the dominant political parties in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. But from 1996 onwards the vote share of Bharatiya Janata Party has increased in the parliamentary elections for the state, from 12.45% in 2008 to 23% in 2014.[12]

Comparison between voter turnout trends (in percentages) for the elections to the Lok Sabha (House of the People) of India between 1967 and 2014 for Jammu & Kashmir and India. Jammu & Kashmir has had the lowest voter turnout for any state in India in 6 of the 12 Lok Sabha elections it has been a part of.[13][14][15]
  1. ^ a b "Jammu and Kashmir: Centre begins process of delimitation of Assembly seats". Scroll.in. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. ^ Manhotra, Dinesh (20 February 2020). "Clamour to defreeze Assembly seats 'reserved' for PoJK". Tribune India. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  3. ^ "J&K: First-ever District Development Council elections to be held in eight phases from November 28". Scroll.in. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Jammu and Kashmir DDC polls, panchayat-municipal by-elections notifications issued". The Financial Express. PTI. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir. "Parliamentary Constituencies". ceojammukashmir.nic.in. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  7. ^ Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Constituency map, http://ceojammukashmir.nic.in/JKMaps/JK_AC-combined.pdf, Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir.
  8. ^ "Questions in Jammu and Kashmir local polls". The Indian Express. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  9. ^ "First municipal elections since 2005; despite boycott by NC, PDP, civic poll dates out". The Indian Express. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  10. ^ Dalal, The Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly (1935), p. 144–147.
  11. ^ Hussain, Sheikh Abdullah - A Biography (2016), p. 245, 247.
  12. ^ Livemint (30 December 2014). "Battleground state | Jammu and Kashmir". Livemint. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  13. ^ Election Commission of India. "Statistical Reports of General Election to Lok Sabha". eci.nic.in. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  14. ^ Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Election Commission of India, Election Data, Open Government Data Platform India, https://data.gov.in/catalog/election-lok-sabha-house-people. Published under Government Open Data License - India National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy Government of India: https://data.gov.in/government-open-data-license-india
  15. ^ "Government Open Data License - India National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy Government of India". 21 January 2022.