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all 75 seats in Legislative Assembly 38 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 40.3% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held in the early months of 1962. [1] [2] Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was appointed Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. [3]
After the 1957 elections, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad failed to appoint any member of the G. M. Sadiq-led leftist faction to the Cabinet, leading Sadiq to form a rival Democratic National Conference party. However, in 1960, a reconciliation was brokered by the central government, and the two parties reunited. The reunited party contested the elections in 1962. [4] However, 20 candidates from the rump Democratic National Conference party contested the election. [2]
The other parties contesting the elections were the Jammu Praja Parishad, Praja Socialist Party and Harijan Mandal. [2]
The 1962 elections were the first elections in the state conducted by the Election Commission of India. The earlier elections were held by the State's Franchise Commissioner. [5]
Of the 43 constituencies in the Kashmir Valley, 32 were unopposed. Overall, the National Conference won 41 of the 43 seats in the Valley. [6]
In the Jammu Division, the National Conference won 27 of the 30 seats (two of which were unopposed). The remaining three seats went to the Praja Parishad. [7] [8]
In the Ladakh Division, all two seats were won by the National Conference. The Ladakh seat was won by the Head Llama Kushak Bakula. [9] [10]
After the elections, the Praja Parishad held a mass demonstration in the Jammu city, joined by the Praja Socialist Party and the Akali Dal, citing electoral malpractices. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad dismissed the complaints as "frivolous". [7]
 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Jammu & Kashmir National Conference | 486,060 | 66.96 | 70 | |
| Jammu Praja Parishad | 126,836 | 17.47 | 3 | |
| Others | 59,078 | 8.14 | 0 | |
| Independents | 53,892 | 7.42 | 2 | |
| Total | 725,866 | 100.00 | 75 | |
| Valid votes | 725,866 | 97.59 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 17,940 | 2.41 | ||
| Total votes | 743,806 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,843,930 | 40.34 | ||
| Source: ECI [11] | ||||
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was increasingly seen in New Delhi as an embarrassment as he arranged most seats to be elected unopposed. In 1963, he was forced to step down, and Khwaja Shamsuddin was elected as the Chief Minister. Bakshi ensured that his rival G. M. Sadiq could not be appointed. The Shamsuddin government again excluded Sadiq his colleagues from Cabinet appointments. [7]
In December 1963, the pent-up anger of the populace erupted over a stolen religious relic from the Srinagar's Hazratbal Mosque. Even though the relic was subsequently recovered, the people did not trust the government and continued the agitation. In the fall-out, Shamsuddin lost his post, and G. M. Sadiq was appointed as the Chief Minister in February 1965. [12]
The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas in 1932 in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the organisation renamed itself to "National Conference" in 1939 in order to represent all the people of the state. It supported the accession of the princely state to India in 1947. Prior to that, in 1941, a group led by Ghulam Abbas broke off from the National Conference and revived the old Muslim Conference. The revived Muslim Conference supported the accession of the princely state to Pakistan and led the movement for Azad Kashmir.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was an Indian politician who served twice as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, during November 2002–November 2005 and March 2015–January 2016. He was also Minister of Tourism in Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet and Home Minister of India in V. P. Singh's cabinet. He started in the wing of the National Conference led by G. M. Sadiq, which later merged into the Indian National Congress. He switched to Janata Dal in 1987, eventually founding his own regional party, People's Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP continues to be a political force in Jammu and Kashmir, currently led by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti.
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The following is a timeline of the Kashmir conflict, a territorial conflict between India, Pakistan and, to a lesser degree, China. India and Pakistan have been involved in four wars and several border skirmishes over the issue.
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad (1907–1972) was an Indian politician belonging to the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, who served as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 1953 to 1964. Bakshi was a member of the National Conference from its founding and rose to be the second in command to the principal leader Sheikh Abdullah. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir between 1947 and 1953, but disagreed with Abdullah's advocacy of independence for the state in 1953. He staged a 'coup' with the help of the Head of State Karan Singh, resulting in the dismissal and imprisonment of Sheikh Abdullah. Bakshi was the longest serving Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, whose rule saw the formulation of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and a normalisation of relations of Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian government.
Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq was an Indian politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 1964 to 1965, when the position was renamed to Chief Minister. He continued as the Chief Minister till his death in 1971.
The All Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front, or Plebiscite Front, was a political party in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that called for a "popular plebiscite" to decide if the state should remain part of India, join Pakistan or become independent. The patron of the party was Sheikh Abdullah, the former Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and chief of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, even though he never formally joined it. The founder of the party was Mirza Afzal Beg.
Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg (1908–1982) was a Kashmiri politician belonging to the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He served as a minister in the pre-independence period in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, and as the revenue minister in the post-independence government headed by Sheikh Abdullah. In this post he led the land reforms in Jammu and Kashmir, recognised as the most successful land reforms in India.
Elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are conducted in accordance with the Constitution of India to elect the representatives of various bodies at national, state and district levels including the 114 seat unicameral Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the Parliament of India. The first elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir took place between 28 November and 19 December 2020 in the form of by-elections to District Development Councils and municipal and panchayat level bodies. A fresh delimitation process for assembly constituencies began in February-March 2020.
The Harijan Mandal was an Ambedkarite political party in Jammu and Kashmir. The party was founded in 1951. It was modelled on the Scheduled Castes Federation. Unlike its predecessor, the All Jammu and Kashmir Harijan Mandal, this organization was oriented towards electoral politics. It was led by Babu Milkhi Ram (president), Munshi Ram, Major Singh and Sain Das. The party was concentrated in Jammu. It was opposed to the Jammu Praja Parishad, which was dominated by upper caste Hindus. The party received government support during the reign of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad.
Election for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held on 23 March 1987. Farooq Abdullah was reappointed as the Chief Minister.
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The Jammu Praja Parishad was a political party active in the Jammu Division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It was founded in November 1947 by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Balraj Madhok, and served as the main opposition party in the state. It maintained close ties with Bharatiya Jana Sangh during its lifetime and merged with the latter in 1963. Its main activity was to campaign for the close integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India and oppose the special status granted to the state under the Article 370 of the Indian constitution. After its merger with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor of the present day Bharatiya Janata Party, the party gradually rose in stature. As an integral part of the Bharatiya Janata Party, it was a partner in the ruling coalition led by the People's Democratic Party.
Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held in February 1967. Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq was appointed Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
The first elections for the Legislative Assembly of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir under its own Constitution were held in March–June 1957. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was appointed Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Elections for the Constituent Assembly of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held in September–October 1951. Sheikh Abdullah was appointed Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Following frictions with various groups such as the Jammu Praja Parishad agitation, Abdullah was dismissed in August 1953 and imprisoned. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was appointed as the next Prime Minister.
The following is a timeline of the Kashmir conflict during the period 1846–1946.
Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah was a religious leader and politician in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the British Raj. He served as the Imam of the Jama Masjid in Srinagar, a position that is also known as the "mirwaiz of Kashmir". He relegated the majority of his political career to opposing the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference of Sheikh Abdullah, including siding with Pakistan during the First Kashmir War. He moved to Azad Kashmir and eventually served as a president of that region.
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