Jammu and Kashmir assembly election: In a first, Valmikis, Gorkhas, West Pakistani refugees cast their votes

The third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election 2024 on Tuesday saw several marginalised communities who had been disenfranchised for decades exercise their right to vote for the first time. Members of the Valmiki and Gorkha communities along with West Pakistan refugees voted in the third phase of the elections.??

CREDIT: AP

Why they had no voting rights till now

Despite being residents of the state for decades, they did not enjoy the same rights as Kashmiris, due to Article 370. With the revocation of Article 370, both West Pakistan refugees and Valmikis can now buy land, apply for jobs, and participate in elections.??

The Valmikis were originally brought to J-K in 1957 from Punjab's Gurdaspur district for sanitation work by the state government.??

The Gorkha community in Gorkha Nagar migrated from Nepal to Jammu and Kashmir decades ago to serve alongside the former Dogra Army.??

According to records, 5,764 families of West Pakistan Refugees, commonly known as WPRs, settled in various parts of Jammu in 1947.??

CREDIT: PTI

Valmikis along with West Pakistan refugees and Gorkha communities have a population of around 1.5 lakh people spread across Jammu, Samba, and Kathua districts, particularly in border areas.??

Jammu and Kashmir assembly election 2024

A total of 415 candidates, including former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand (Congress) and Muzaffar Hussain Beig, are contesting in the third phase of Assembly elections on Tuesday.??

According to the Election Commission, more than 3.9 million voters in seven districts are eligible to vote in this phase.??

CREDIT: AP

This is the first Assembly election in Kashmir in a decade, and the first polls since the abrogation of Article 370, after which the region was transformed into a Union Territory.??

Results of all the 90 seats that voted in three phases will be announced on Tuesday, October 8.

For more news and current affairs?from around the world, please visit?Indiatimes News.