A total of 219 candidates are contesting in the first phase of the three-phase Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, following the withdrawal of 25 nominations on Friday, the final day for withdrawal of nominations.
Initially, 280 nominations were submitted for 24 Assembly constituencies across seven districts in Jammu and Kashmir, which are scheduled to vote on 18 September, PTI reported.
After scrutiny, 36 nominations were rejected, and with 25 candidates withdrawing their nominations on Friday, 219 candidates remain in the fray.
Of the 25 candidates who withdrew, five are from the Kashmir division and 20 from the Jammu division.
Among those who withdrew, 18 were independents, while five were from the Democratic Progressive Azad Party, one from the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (India), and one from the Bahujan Samaj Party.
On Friday, the Jammu and Kashmir government appointed four officers from the J&K Police Services (JKPS) as new Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) for Srinagar, Baramulla, and Kupwara districts, and as Superintendent of Police (SP) for Handwara, following approval from the Election Commission of India.
Earlier in the day, two BJP leaders, including a district president, resigned from the primary membership of the party on Saturday. They cited dissatisfaction with the candidate selections in their constituencies for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. Additionally, hundreds of BJP workers staged a rally in the Khour block of the Chhamb Assembly constituency on the outskirts of Jammu, protesting the decision to field former MLA Rajeev Sharma from the area.
Elections for the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be held in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1, with results to be declared on October 4.