Record 68.72 pc voter turnout in last phase of J&K Assembly Polls

Jammu Tawi/Srinagar, Oct 1: The final phase of polling for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election on Tuesday witnessed record 68.72 percent voter turnout in the 40 constituencies spread across seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

An official of the Election Commission of India said that the polling for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election concluded in a peaceful and celebratory atmosphere.

He said that the figure is highest compared to previous two phases that saw 61.13 percent and 57.31 percent voted in the first and second phases respectively.

Scenes of voters patiently waiting in lines at polling stations, set against the scenic backdrop of the region, highlighted the people's strong faith in democracy, he said adding that the festive mood and enthusiastic participation were evident across all districts that went for polls in three-phased elections, underscoring a renewed spirit of civic participation and hope for a new era with people deciding their own future.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu has delivered on their promise of ensuring democratic resurgence in Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

The CEC said, “J&K Assembly elections have marked a significant deepening of democracy which will echo in the pages of history and continue to inspire a democratic spirit of the region for years to come.”

He dedicated these elections to the people of J&K acknowledging their determination and belief in the democratic process adding that the peaceful and participative elections are historic, wherein democracy is taking root more profoundly than ever before, driven by the will of people of J&K.

The election was a resounding statement in favour of democracy in line with the CEC Rajiv Kumar's vote of confidence given during the announcement of the General Elections in J&K on August 16, 2024, a ECI release said.

J&K is voting for the first time in an assembly election in a decade. This is the first assembly polls held after the Narendra Modi government abrogated Article 370 in August 2019 and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.

The results for the 90 assembly seats will be declared on October 8.

In a social media post on X on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged voters and said, “Today is the third and last round of voting in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election. I request all voters to come forward and cast their votes to make the festival of democracy a success.”

About 39,18,220 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this phase, comprising 20,09,033 male voters, 19,09,130 female voters, and 57 third-gender voters. The electors will decide the fate of 415 candidates.

In the first phase of polls, about 61 percent of the electorate in Jammu and Kashmir casted their votes. In the second phase held last week, the total voter turnout was 57.3 percent.

The 40 assembly constituencies in the last phase of voting include 16 in three districts of the Kashmir Valley (Kupwara, Baramulla, and Bandipora) and 24 in the four districts of Jammu division (Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, and Samba).

While the Baramulla assembly segment of North Kashmir leads with the highest 25 candidates in the fray, the Akhnoor Assembly constituency of Jammu district witnessed a triangular contest during this phase.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has established a total of 5060 polling stations with webcasting across 40 assembly Constituencies.

The 16 seats in Kashmir include Karnah, Trehgam, Kupwara,Lolab, Handwara, Langate, Sopore, Rafiabad, Uri, Baramulla, Gulmarg, Wagoora -Kreeri, Pattan, Sonawari, Bandipora and Gurez (ST).

The 24 seats in Jammu division where voting is on include Udhampur West, Udhampur East, Chenani, Ramnagar(SC), Bani, Billawar, Basohli, Jasrota, Kathua, Hiranagar, Ramgarh(SC), Samba, Vijaypur, Bishnah(SC), Suchetgarh(SC), R.S.Pura–Jammu South, Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Marh(SC), Akhnoor (SC) and Chhamb.

The ECI official said, “in Jammu-Kashmir, the world will witness the defeat of nefarious and inimical interests and the triumph of democracy. The voting across 40 ACs in the third and final phase was held peacefully without any incidents of violence and a voter turnout of 68.72 percent was recorded at the polling stations.”

Sharing the district-wise voter turnout in Phase – 3, he said that Bandipora recorded 67.57 percent, Baramulla 59.84 percent, Jammu 70.25 percent, Kathua 72.23 percent, Kupwara 65.81 percent, Samba 75.22 percent and Udhampur highest 75.87 percent taking the total overall polling percentage to 68.72 percent.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India Rajiv Kumar said that J&K Assembly elections have marked a significant deepening of democracy which will echo in the pages of history and continue to inspire a democratic spirit of the region for years to come.

He dedicated these elections to the people of J&K acknowledging their determination and belief in the democratic process.

“The peaceful and participative elections are historic, wherein democracy is taking root more profoundly than ever before, driven by the will of the people of J&K. The elections were a resounding statement in favour of democracy,” Kumar said.

There were several notable candidates whose fate will be decided and there are over nearly two dozen former ministers and lawmakers whose fate was sealed on Tuesday.

The key candidates included former deputy chief minister and Congress leader Tara Chand, who is contesting from the Chhamb Assembly constituency; former ministers Yogesh Sawhney contesting as Congress candidate from Jammu East, Manohar Lal from Congress contesting from Billawar, former minister Ajay Sadhotra contesting as National Conference candidate from Jammu North, former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig, who is fighting as an independent candidate from Baramulla; Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference; Bashaarat Bukhari of the Peoples Democratic Party; Choudhary Ramazan of the National Conference; Sham Lal Sharma and Devender Singh Rana of the Bharatiya Janata Party; and Choudary Lal Singh of Congress, Usman Majeed, among others.

In Kashmir, all eyes were on the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), headed by Member Parliament Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, who was released from Tihar jail on interim bail and rigorously campaigned for the assembly polls.