No repoll recorded in J&K assembly polls: Election Commission

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission said no repolls have been recorded so far in the three-phased Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls which concluded on Tuesday.

It also noted that despite an increase in the number of assembly seats from 83 in 2014 to 90 in 2024, the elections were completed in three phases this time as against five in 2014.

No major law and order incidents related to the elections were reported, a significant improvement from 2014 when over 170 incidents were reported, including 87 on polling days, it said.

There also have been no complaints pertaining to arbitrary preventive detention of political functionaries in these elections which is “unprecedented”, the poll authority said.

The Election Commission (EC) had also strictly instructed against clubbing of polling stations just before the poll day, and accordingly, people voted at their actual polling station location as opposed to 98 polling stations shifted in 2014 at the eleventh hour.

The role of money and muscle power has been curtailed to a “significant extent”, it said.

These assembly polls have seen a seven per cent increase in the number of candidates contesting as compared to the assembly elections in 2014.

Women candidates made a significant leap, increasing from 28 to 43 in the corresponding period, while independent candidates saw a 26 per cent rise.

Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs) also demonstrated a remarkable 71 per cent increase in participation from 138 in 2014 to 236 in 2024, the EC said. (PTI)