J&K polls: 69.65% turnout in final phase

Jammu: A voter turnout of 69.65 percent was recorded in the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Tuesday, with the democratic exercise passing off peacefully amid tight security.

This marks a historic moment of “first time voting” for three communities — West Pakistan Refugees, Valmikis, and Gurkhas — who have long lacked polling rights and political representation in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the past 75 years.

“The polling in phase 3 of the elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir recorded an approximate voter turnout of 69.65 percent,” the Election Commission of India (ECI) said in an official statement.

The ECI said data will continue to be updated by the field-level officers as the remaining polling parties return and updated figures will be available assembly constituency and district-wise live on the Voter Turnout App.

Udhampur district, which has four assembly segments, registered the highest voting of 76.09 percent followed by Samba district, which has three assembly segments. Kathua district (six segments) polled 73.34 percent, followed by Jammu (11 segments) with 71.40 percent, Bandipora (three segments) with 67.68 percent, Kupwara (six segments) with 66.79 percent, and the lowest in Baramulla district (seven segments) with 61.03 percent.

Overall, after the conclusion of all three phases, the poll percentage stands at 63.45 percent, which is higher than the turnout recorded in the recently held Lok Sabha elections in the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir CEO office said in a statement.

According to the ECI data, there were more than 39.18 lakh eligible voters in the final phase. The first phase of polling, held on September 18, saw an estimated 61.38 percent voter turnout followed by 57.31 in the second phase, while the final phase registered 69.65 percent.

The highest turnout was recorded in the Marh assembly segment of Jammu district, with 81.47 percent of registered voters exercising their franchise. The other notable turnout figures included Chhamb (80.34 percent), Akhnoor (79.73 percent), and Gurez (78.04 percent).

The lowest voter turnout was recorded in the Sopore assembly segment in the Baramulla district, where 45.32 per cent of registered voters cast their votes followed by 53.90 per cent in the Baramulla segment.

According to the Election Commission data, the overall polling percentage in the three phases was 63.45 percent.

The officials said the polling went off peacefully in all segments, including special polling stations along the International Border and Line of Control (LoC), with no untoward incidents reported.

In the recently held parliamentary polls, the turnout in the seven districts that went to polls in the final phase on Tuesday was recorded at 66.78 percent. The turnout in phases 1 and 2 was also higher than in the Lok Sabha elections. While seven districts in phase 1 recorded a 61.38 per cent turnout, the figure was 60 per cent in the general elections.

Similarly, six districts that went to polls in phase 2 recorded 57.31 per cent polling as compared to 52.17 per cent turnout in the Lok Sabha polls, according to available data.

However, compared to the 2014 assembly elections, the third phase of polls in 40 assembly segments across seven districts — Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, and Samba in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora, and Kupwara in north Kashmir — recorded a marked dip in the overall percentage, which was attributed mostly to ongoing farming activities.

Most seats in the third phase registered a drop of 1 to 15 percent compared to 2014 except for Sopore, Baramulla, and Pattan constituencies, where the figures have increased this time.

Sopore, once a terrorist and separatist stronghold, recorded the lowest turnout of 41.44 percent, but it was far better than the 2014 polls when the seat recorded 30.79 percent voting, the EC data showed. Baramulla, a traditional boycott bastion, recorded a 47.95 per cent turnout against 39.73 per cent in 2014, while Pattan saw 60.87 percent polling compared to 58.72 per cent in the last assembly polls.

The polling began at 7 am amid tight security. It concluded at 6 pm, sealing the fate of 415 candidates, including two former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Baig, and several former ministers and legislators. The votes will be counted on October 8.

Long queues outside polling stations since early morning marked the enthusiasm among people, who voted for the first time in the assembly elections after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.