People's Democratic Party  

The Congress, the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party stayed away from the elections in Jammu and Kashmir - a first after abrogation of the state's special status

Jammu and Baramulla Lok Sabha constituencies enter polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election amid calls of boycott issued by separatists as well as militant groups in the Valley. Voters queue up to cast their vote in North Kashmir's Baramulla and Uri district. Voters talk about the uncertain state of Kashmir and how peace is what they want. Apart from that unemployment and infrastructural issues are also a major concern for the locals. In these two constituencies, more than 3.3 million people are to choose their parliamentary representatives from among 33 candidates. In Jammu, where 24 candidates are in the fray, the fight is mainly between the BJP’s Jugal Kishore and the Congress’ Raman Bhalla as the regional parties, National Conference (NCP) and People's Democratic Party (PDP), decided not to field their candidates to consolidate the “secular vote” against BJP.