When will the assembly elections be held in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave this indication
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir in connection with International Yoga Day. He reached there on Thursday. He gave big indications about the state in a program organized in the name of ‘Empowering Youth and Transforming Jammu and Kashmir’. He said that soon Jammu and Kashmir can get the status of a full state. Along with this, he said that preparations for the assembly elections have started in the state. He said that soon the people of Jammu and Kashmir will choose their new government with their votes. Along with this, he said that soon Jammu and Kashmir will make its future better as a state.
What has Prime Minister Modi said?
Prime Minister Modi, in his speech, referring to the record voting in the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, said that today we are seeing the vision of humanity, democracy and Kashmiriyat given by Atal ji turning into reality. In this election, you have made democracy win. You have broken the record of the last 35-40 years. This shows how much faith the youth of Jammu and Kashmir have in democracy.
He said, “I am working with great honesty and dedication to find a way out of the sufferings of the previous generations of Kashmir. Whether the distances are of the heart or of Delhi, we are making every effort to eliminate them. We all have to work together to ensure that every area and every family in Kashmir benefits from democracy and everyone prospers. Money used to come from the central government earlier too, but today every penny that comes from the central government is spent for your welfare. We ensure that the money released from Delhi is used for the same work for which it was released and its results are also visible.”
Prime Minister Modi said, “The people of Jammu and Kashmir should choose their representatives at the local level, through them you can find ways to solve problems, what can be better than this. Therefore, now the preparations for the assembly elections have also started. The time is not far when you will choose the new government of Jammu and Kashmir with your vote. That day will also come soon, when Jammu and Kashmir will make its future better as a state.”
Hope of the people of Jammu and Kashmir
This speech of Prime Minister Modi has brought great relief to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. There is no government in the state since June 2018. The Lieutenant Governor is running the government there. Since the removal of Article 370 from the state and division in August 2019, people have been demanding assembly elections and full statehood status for Jammu and Kashmir. The government has given assurance of fulfilling both these demands many times in Parliament and outside it. The latest statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strengthened the hopes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Indications of assembly elections being held soon in Jammu and Kashmir were also received when BJP appointed election in-charge for the state. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has been made the election in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the BJP has not yet appointed any co-in-charge for the state, as has been done for the three other states going to polls – Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
BJP’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections
In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had fielded candidates only on the Hindu-dominated Jammu and Udhampur seats. It did not field candidates on the three Muslim-dominated seats in the state. It won both the seats. Of the remaining three seats, two were won by the National Conference and one by an independent candidate. In this election, the BJP had secured 24.36 per cent votes. The National Conference got 22.30, Congress got 19.38 and PDP got 8.48 per cent votes. Earlier in the 2019 elections, there were six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir. Of these, three seats were won by the BJP and three by the National Conference.
In Jammu and Kashmir, BJP performed the best in the 2014 assembly elections. In that election, it won 25 out of 87 seats. After this, BJP and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) formed a coalition government. This government lasted for about three years. BJP withdrew support from the coalition government. Due to this, Mehbooba Mufti’s government fell on 19 June 2018.
How many seats are there in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly?
The state was reorganized in August 2019. After this, Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2023. After this, the number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has increased to 95. At the same time, the total seats of the assembly have increased to 119. These also include 24 seats of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
For the formation of a new assembly in the state, elections will be held for 90 assembly seats including 47 in Kashmir and 43 in Jammu. Two members of the Kashmiri Pandit community and one member of the Pakistani refugees will be nominated. Their nomination will be done by the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. There was already a provision for the nomination of two women in the House. For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, nine seats have been reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. Seven seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes. To prove the majority, any party will now need the support of 48 MLAs.
