Voters queued outside polling stations in India's Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to vote in the first provincial election being held in a decade in the Himalayan region that has grappled with years of militant violence.

Eight constituencies in the Jammu region and 16 from the Kashmir Valley voted on the first phase of assembly elections. Two more rounds of voting remain.

The first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019 saw phase one conclude peacefully with a voter turnout of 50.65% by 3 pm. Political leaders called for high voter participation, emphasizing future stability,

As the first phase of voting in Jammu and Kashmir begins on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged voters to come out in huge numbers to strengthen the festival of democracy.

PM Modi has specially called upon the young & first time voters to use their right of voting.

Voter turnout in the recent Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections was 61%, marginally up from 60.19% in 2014. Despite minor fluctuations, polling was peaceful across all districts. This marked the first assembly polls since Article 370's revocation and the union territory's establishment.

Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir are being held for the first time since the abrogation of section 370. Candidates have been been leaving no stones unturned in their campaigning to woo voters in their favour in order to bag victories in their respective constituencies.

The Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir began on September 18, as scheduled by the Election Commission of India (ECI). This is the first election since 2019, when the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir was altered by the abrogation of Article 370,