Building on the national elections earlier this year, peaceful and enthusiastic voting marked the beginning of legislative assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday in the first electoral exercise in India’s only Muslim-majority region since it lost its special status five years ago.

A voter turnout of more than 61% was recorded in the first phase of the assembly polls covering 24 of the total of 90 constituencies. 

The polling covered seven districts – Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Kishtwar, Anantnag, Ramban, and Doda. Over 2.3 million voters were eligible to cast the ballot to determine the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 independents, in the first phase.

The remaining two phases of the assembly poll encompassing 66 seats are scheduled for 25 September and 1 October and the counting of votes is billed for 8 October. Jammu and Kashmir has a total of nine million voters.

“The percentage in the first phase of polling is the highest in the past seven elections – four Lok Sabha polls and three assembly elections,"  Pandurang Pole, chief electoral officer of the region, said attributing the increase in the turnout to various factors including improved security situation, active participation of political parties, and candidates and measures taken by the department.

According to the Election Commission, in each of the seven districts where voting was held on Wednesday, the turnout surpassed that witnessed during the Lok Sabha elections this year when the voter turnout of 58.58% at polling stations was the highest in the last 35 years.

“Voters from all sections of society responded to the ‘call of democracy’ wholeheartedly, reaffirming the confidence expressed by CEC Rajiv Kumar during the announcement of assembly elections that people of Jammu and Kashmir will give a befitting reply to the nefarious forces attempting to disrupt the electoral process,” the EC said.

In the past, separatists had targeted elections in Kashmir resulting in much lower voter turnouts.

This is the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade and post abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 that conferred a special status to the region. The last assembly elections were held in 2014.

Until 2019, Jammu and Kashmir had a special status and partial autonomy that was revoked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Last year, the Supreme Court upheld the government's decision and set a deadline of 30 September this year for the holding of the assembly elections.

Among the measures taken by the EC to promote participatory elections in Jammu and Kashmir are the assurance of minimum facilities like drinking water, electricity, toilet, ramp, furniture, adequate shelter, helpdesk, wheelchair and volunteers at all polling stations. One polling station, exclusively managed by women and persons with disabilities, was set up in every constituency.

Home-voting facility was introduced for the first time in assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and persons with 40% benchmark disability many of whom opted to vote from the comfort of their homes.

The Election Commission ensured polling stations were accessible even in remote corners of Jammu and Kashmir and even quiet villages were brought into the fold of the democratic exercise. 

In one such village in Dhadkai, known as the “silent village,” voters with speech and hearing impairments made their voices heard loud and clear with their votes at a polling station in Bhadarwah assembly constituency in Doda district.

The battle in the assembly poll this time is between regional parties promising to restore the special status, India's main opposition Congress party which has aligned with a National Conference headed by former chief minister Farooq Abdullah as well as BJP which has made development and a permanent end to militancy as its main poll planks. Another mainstream regional party People’s Democratic Party led by another former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, is contesting alone.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly will have powers to debate local issues, make laws and approve decisions for governing the territory but cannot restore the special status as that is the jurisdiction of the central government.