Srinagar/Jammu, Sep 16 : Campaigning for the first phase of the Assembly elections ended on Monday evening, with political parties making the final dash to win over electors who will vote on 24 seats out of the 90 in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on September 18.

These will be the first Assembly elections in J&K in a decade, and the first since the abrogation of Article 370 by the Narendra Modi government on August 5, 2019.

Two former chief ministers, Omar Abdullah, the vice president of the National Conference (NC), and Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP and Union ministers Amit Shah and Jitendra Singh were among the star campaigners who wooed voters in Jammu and Kashmir on the last day of campaign for the first phase of the election.

In the first phase, 219 candidates are in the fray for 24 Assembly constituencies across eight districts of J&K. About 23,27,000 voters including 5,66,000 youth are eligible to exercise their electoral franchise in this phase.

In the Kashmir region, 16 constituencies, including Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, D.H. Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara–Bijbehara, Shangus–Anantnag East, and Pahalgam, will vote on Wednesday. In the Jammu region, voting will be held on Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder – Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban and Banihal.

Omar Abdullah intensified his attacks on Member of Parliament Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, who leads the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP). Just two days before the first phase of polls, the AIP formed a “strategic” alliance with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, prompting Omar to accuse the two parties of taking “orders” from “external forces and following their agenda.”

In this phase, four former Jamaat members are contesting as Independent candidates.

NC Vice President Abdullah said that the party had run a strong campaign for the first phase and was optimistic about their chances.

“People’s participation in NC events was high, and we are hopeful that a good portion of the votes will go to our candidates, leading to victory,” he said on Monday.

During her campaign, Mehbooba Mufti also criticized MP Engineer Rashid, accusing him of being a government proxy with the goal of dividing the Kashmiri vote.

Mufti has also said that her party would be king maker in the next government.

Rashid, who had been imprisoned in Tihar Jail since 2019 on a terror funding case, was granted interim bail by a Delhi court to campaign for the Assembly polls. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, riding on a emotional campaign jailed Rashid won the polls defeating Omar Abdullah, by a margin of 2 lakh votes

During his poll campaign days Engineer Rashid has repeatedly denied being a BJP proxy. His presence has certainly added a new dynamic to the election in Kashmir. A recent rally in Tral, once a militancy hotbed, highlighted the challenges regional parties may face in the upcoming polls.

The two national parties, BJP and Congress, have also made efforts to appeal to voters.

Congress, which has a pre-poll alliance with the NC, brought in top leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to campaign for coalition candidates in South Kashmir. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav campaigned for his party in the first phase in Kashmir. On Monday, Madhav expressed confidence that the BJP would form the next government in J&K.

With the conclusion of the campaign, high-level security arrangements have been put in place across the districts ahead of the polls.

In the Jammu region, the last day of campaign saw three rallies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Stating that the BJP led government at the Centre will bury terrorism to the extent that it will never come back again, Shah said on Monday said that nobody will be allowed to use the Indian soil for terrorism.

“The anti-national elements are trying to create 1990s like situation in Jammu and Kashmir but I want to ensure you that as long as Narendra Modi government was at the Centre, no power can revive terrorism in Jammu region,” he said addressing a rally in Paddar-Nagseni Assembly constituency in Kishtwar district.

Shah earlier on September 6 visited Jammu to launch the BJP’s manifesto and address the party workers.

He stated that the BJP will push the terrorism several feet below the ground so that it does not return back again, adding, “nobody will be allowed to use Indian soil for terrorism.”

The Home Minister also said that Article 370 has become an old chapter in India’s history and has no place in the Indian constitution.

UNI