jQuery’s documentation states:
[jQuery.val] checks, or selects, all the radio buttons, checkboxes, and select options that match the set of values.
This behavior is in jQuery
versions 1.2
and above.
You most likely want this:
$("._statusDDL").val('2');
Add .change()
to see the option in the dropdown list frontend:
$("._statusDDL").val('2').change();