The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 is the third such elections in last one decade.

Question

Consider the following statements:

Assertion (A): The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 is the third such elections in last one decade.

Reason (R): The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 is the first election since 1947 that has reserved seats for SCs and STs. Choose the correct answer:

1. A. A is true but R is false
2. B. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
3. C. A is false but R is true (Correct answer)
4. D. Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A

Correct Answer

Option C — A is false but R is true

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is A is false but R is true.

Key Points

• Assertion (A) is false. The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 were not the third such election in a decade. The previous Assembly election was held in 2014, so the 2024 election was the first in ten years — a gap created by the imposition of Governor's Rule in 2018 and the reorganisation of the State in 2019.
• Reason (R) is true. The 2024 election was the first in Jammu and Kashmir to have seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Following the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the delimitation exercise, the Assembly's 90 seats include 7 reserved for Scheduled Castes and 9 for Scheduled Tribes.
• Since A is false, options B and D — both of which require A to be true — cannot apply.

Additional Information

• The 2024 election was held in three phases (18 and 25 September, 1 October 2024), with results declared on 8 October 2024. The National Conference–Congress alliance won a majority and Omar Abdullah became Chief Minister.
• Delimitation in J&K was carried out by a commission headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, which raised the Assembly's strength from 83 to 90 elected seats — Jammu going from 37 to 43 and Kashmir from 46 to 47.
• ST reservation was possible only after 2019, because the earlier J&K Constitution did not provide for it. Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Sippis are the principal Scheduled Tribes of the Union Territory, and Paharis were added to the ST list in 2024.
• Jammu and Kashmir remains a Union Territory with a legislature, so Public Order and Police stay with the Union government through the Lieutenant Governor — unlike in a full State.