National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah declared on Friday that he will be contesting the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections. However, his son and party vice-president, Omar Abdullah, will not be participating in the polls this year. Omar stated that he will only contest when the state’s full statehood is restored.
“I will contest these elections. Omar Abdullah will not contest the elections. When the statehood is restored, then I will step down and Omar Abdullah will contest from that seat,” Farooq Abdullah told reporters shortly after the Election Commission announced the assembly election schedule.
Farooq Abdullah emphasized the party’s commitment to the restoration of statehood, stating, “We want statehood. Not only the NC, but all the parties of J&K want it. It is the Government of India’s promise that there will be complete statehood…”
Meanwhile, Omar Abdullah expressed his party’s readiness for the elections and announced that their campaigning will begin soon. Addressing the press conference, Omar said, “Der aaye durust aaye. The Election Commission has announced the dates of the elections in three phases.” He further added, “The schedule will be over in a short time. After 1987-1988, this is the first time when the elections in J&K are being conducted in such a small number of phases. The National Conference was ready for this day. We will begin our election campaign soon.”
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections are scheduled to be held in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1. The results for both the assembly elections will be declared on October 4, as announced by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
There are a total of 90 assembly constituencies, of which 74 are General, nine are ST, and seven are SC. Jammu and Kashmir has a total of 87.09 lakh electors, including 44.46 lakh male, 42.62 lakh female, 169 transgender, 82,590 PwDs, 73,943 very senior citizens, 2660 centenarians, 76,092 service electors, and 3.71 lakh first-time voters.
In December of last year, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to conclude the election process by September 30, 2024. These elections will mark the return of democratic processes to Jammu and Kashmir after a ten-year gap, with the last assembly elections held in 2014. The PDP-BJP coalition government collapsed in June 2018 when the BJP withdrew support from then-Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
