Elections in Jammu and Kashmir


Elections in Jammu and Kashmir include 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 are 87 assembly constituencies and 6 Lok sabha constituencies. Legislative assembly elections have been held 11 times in the state since 1951 whereas Parliamentary elections have been held 12 times since 1967. Municipal elections have been held in the state only four times since 1947, with the October 2018 elections being the fifth time they were held.Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party and Indian National Congress have been the dominant political parties in Jammu and Kashmir. But in recent years the vote share of Bharatiya Janata Party has increased considerably for the parliamentary elections in the state, from 12.45% in 2008 to 23% in 2014.

Background

Legal Provisions

give power to the Election Commission of India to oversee the establishment of the electoral roles as well as organize the elections to both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council in Jammu and Kashmir.
Elections to elect all the 111 members of the Legislative Assembly is based universal adult suffrage from people among the state constituencies. The Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir has 36 members. Out of these 22 members are elected according to a "system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote", 6 members are elected from among members municipal council, town area committees, notified area committees, Panchayats and other bodies.
Panchayat elections which are held for sarpanch and panch constituencies as part of the Panchayati Raj system in the state are held according to the provisions in the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act 1989. The authority to form the 'Panchayat Electoral Rolls' and to the conduct Panchayat elections are given to the Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir. Municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir are conducted on the basis of the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act 2000.

Major Political Parties

This list includes state parties as well as national parties. It also include political parties which no longer exist
Jammu and Kashmir has taken part in 12 general elections to the Lok Sabha of India. The first time that Jammu & Kashmir sent elected members to the Lok Sabha was in 1967. Elections were not held in 1990 in Jammu and Kashmir due to insurgency in the region.
The table below shows how the Indian National Congress and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference have won the most Lok Seats in the state since 1967. JKNC and INC has won the seats 27 times each. The other parties won seats in general elections to the Lok Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir are Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party 4 times, Bharatiya Janata Party 13 times, Janata Dal only 1 time and independent candidates 6 times.
Keys:

Legislative assembly elections

After the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir was amended, the name Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir changed into Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
YearElectionChief Minister Seats WonRemarks
1951Constituent AssemblySheikh Abdullah 1951-1953
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad 1953-1957		Total: 75; JKNC: 75Praja Parishad boycotted;
all seats unopposed
1957First AssemblyBakshi Ghulam Mohammad 1957-1962Total: 75; JKNC: 69
PP: 5, HM: 1		47 seats unopposed
1962Second AssemblyBakshi Ghulam Mohammad 1962-1963
Khwaja Shamsuddin 1963-1964
Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq 1964-1972		Total: 74; JKNC: 68
PP: 3, independents: 3		33 seats unopposed;
allegations of malpractices
1967Third AssemblyGhulam Mohammed Sadiq Total: 75; INC: 60
39 seats unopposed;
118 candidates rejected
1972Fourth AssemblySyed Mir Qasim 1972-1975
Sheikh Abdullah 1975-1977		Total: 75; INC: 58
Jamaat: 5; BJS: 3		Plebiscite Front banned;
election malpractices
1977Fifth AssemblySheikh Abdullah 1977-1982
Farooq Abdullah 1982-1983		Total: 76; JKNC: 47
INC: 11, Janata: 13		free and fair elections
1983Sixth AssemblyFarooq Abdullah 1983-1984
Ghulam Mohammad Shah 1984-1986
Farooq Abdullah 1986-1987		Total: 76; JKNC: 46
INC: 26		INC engineered split in JKNC;
suppression of protests
1987Seventh AssemblyFarooq Abdullah 1987-1990
President's rule 1990-1996		Total: 76; JKNC: 40, INC: 26
MUF:4; BJP: 2		blatant rigging
1996Eighth AssemblyFarooq Abdullah Total: 87; JKNC: 57
INC: 7; BJP: 8; JD: 5; BSP: 4
2002Ninth AssemblyMufti Mohammad Sayeed 2002-2005
Ghulam Nabi Azad 2005-2008		Total: 87; PDP: 16, INC: 20,
JKNC: 28, Panthers: 4
Independents: 13
2008Tenth AssemblyOmar Abdullah Total: 87; JKNC: 28, INC: 17
PDP: 21, BJP: 11
2014Eleventh AssemblyMufti Mohammad Sayeed 2015-2016
Mehbooba Mufti 2016 - June 2018		Total: 87; PDP: 28; BJP: 25
JKNC: 15; INC: 12		Results announced in December 2014, but new government formed in March 2015, after two months of intense negotiations to form PDP-BJP alliance, with BJP's Nirmal Kumar Singh becoming Deputy CM in the beginning

Municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir

elections in Jammu and Kashmir are held for positions to municipal corporations in the region on the basis of the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act 2000. Elections to these positions are based on universal adult franchise in electoral constituencies called wards. Since 1947 municipal elections have been held five times in the state. Before 2018, the last Municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in 2005.

2018 municipal elections

The 2018 local elections were held in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in four phases on 8, 10, 13 and 16 October. Voting was held from 7am to 4pm. The days were declared a public holiday in the region. The total number of wards were 1145 out of which 244 wards were uncontested. Out of a total of around 17 lakh electors, the final state voter turnout was 35.1%, that is 5.97 lakh electors voted. Counting was held on 20 October 2018. Major political parties in the state such as Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party boycotted the elections.
There was vast difference between voting turnout for the Urban Local Bodies, with Srinagar Municipal Corporation getting a poll percentage of 1.8% as compared to Ramgarh Municipal Committee getting a poll percentage of 82.6% in the third phase of voting. In certain wards such as Baghat Barzulla, out of a total of 11486 electors, only 61 votes were placed. On the other hand, wards such as Partap Garh, out of 3583 electors, 2372 votes were placed.
In the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, out of the 74 wards, Independent candidates won 53 seats, Indian National Congress won 16 seats, Bhartiya Janata Party secured 4 seats and 1 ward went vacant. In the Jammu Municipal Corporation polls, out of the 75 wards, Bhartiya Janata Party secured 43 seats, Independent candidates got 18 seats and Indian National Congress won 14 seats. In the Leh municipal committee, Congress won all the 13 seats. BJP for the first time in the electoral history of the state, won 60 seats unopposed, winning at least seven municipal committees in Kashmir valley. In Kashmir, 69% of the 598 wards did not require polling.

Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat elections are held in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act 1989.
The 2011 the Panchayat elections consisted of 143 blocks, 4130 Sarpanchs and 29719 Panchs. The total electors were 5,068,975 electors out of which over 80% voted in 33,000 polling stations. Before 2011, panchayat elections were held in 2001 after a gap of 23 years.
YearDatesBlocksNo of Panchayat
Halqas 		No. of Panch
Constituencies		No of ElectorsRemarks
201817 November 2018 to 11 December 20183164483350295854208
201113 April 2011 to 30 June 20111434130297195068975
2001December 2000 to March 2001--10458-

2018 Panchayat elections

In the run-up to the 2018 Panchayat elections, National Conference and People's Democratic Party announced they would boycott the local elections. Around 12 panchayat houses were set on fire before the elections.

Controversies

Election controversies include burning prospective buildings going to be used for elections, such as what happened before the 2018 Panchayat elections in the state. The call to boycott the elections is a common feature among parties in the region, especially the regional parties and separatist groups. Election rigging has also been a criticism, especially during the 1987 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election.