40% of candidates are independents

This is the first assembly election to be held in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and its reorganization into two union territories.
After the delimitation exercise in 2022, the number of parliamentary seats also increased from 87 to 90, including 47 in the Kashmir Valley and 43 in Jammu.

Due to the large number of independent candidates in the fray, the Indian National Congress, the Congress and the People’s Democratic Party claimed that they had the support of “Delhi”.
A total of 365 candidates have filed nominations as independent candidates to contest the three-phase elections.
This is the second highest number of independents to contest in an election in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2008, 468 candidates contested as independents in the assembly elections held soon after the Amarnath land dispute, which left dozens dead and hundreds injured.

The total number of candidates in this election is also the second highest ever, with 1,353 candidates running in 2008.
In 2014, the last parliamentary election held in the former state, a total of 831 candidates contested. Of these, 274 candidates contested as independents.
In this election, a total of 367 candidates are contesting for 43 seats in Jammu region where the BJP has a strong base, while 541 candidates are in the fray for 47 seats in the Valley.

On average, there are five independent candidates in each of Kashmir’s 47 constituencies. In Jammu region, there are 2.93 independent candidates in each constituency.
Sopore constituency — once a hotbed of militancy in Kashmir and the epicentre of the election boycott movement — has the highest number of independent candidates and total number of candidates.
A total of 22 candidates are in the race, 14 of whom are independents.

Independent candidates in Sopore include Ajaz Guru, brother of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
A total of 20 candidates, including 11 independents, are contesting in the Sonawali constituency in Bandipora district, where the banned Jamaat-e-Islami party is strong.
Amid the glut of candidates, four constituencies have no independent candidates, namely Budhal, Kangan, Ramangar and Srigufwara-Bijbehara.
Three candidates are in the fray for the Srigufwara-Bijbehara seat in Anantnag district, one of whom is Iltija Mufti, daughter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti.

Dodasi, Nowshera and Ramgarh have one independent candidate each. BJP Jammu and Kashmir president Ravindra Raina is the candidate in Nowshera and would be a favourite for the chief ministerial post if the party wins the election.
A total of 15 candidates are contesting in the Ganderbal constituency. Seven of them are independents, including jailed separatist leader Sarjan Ahmed Waqai alias Barkati, who hails from Chaupin district in south Kashmir.
The three-phase elections for the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be held on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be announced on October 8.