A woman shows her inked finger after casting her vote at a polling booth during the third and final phase of Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections, at Tangmarg in Baramulla district.
Credit: PTI Photo
Srinagar: Polling for the final 40 seats in the third and largest phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections concluded on Tuesday, recording a voter turnout of 68.72 per cent.
The figure is highest compared to previous two phases that saw 61.13 per cent and 57.31 per cent respectively, Election Commission (EC) officials said. Overall poll percentage comes to 63.45 per cent (tentative).
In the last phase, Samba district in Jammu saw the highest turnout at 73.45 per cent, while Baramulla in Kashmir had the lowest at 55.73 per cent. In contrast to the first two phases of polling, the bulk of the seats in the third - 24 seats — are in the Jammu division, while 16 are in Kashmir.
The polling, which started at 7 am, involved 415 candidates, including former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Beig. Over 3.9 million voters were eligible, with the Election Commission setting up 5,060 polling stations to facilitate the process. To encourage participation, 240 special polling stations were established in this phase.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, the BJP excelled in these seats, winning 18 of 40, followed by the PDP with seven, the National Conference with five, and others securing two each. These seats were vital for the BJP’s coalition government with the PDP.
Having gained voting rights for the first time following the abrogation of Article 370, enthusiastic West Pakistani refugees, Valmiki Samaj and Gorkha community members thronged polling stations in the early hours to exercise their franchise.
Polling took place under tight security in three border districts of north Kashmir—Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora—to ensure a peaceful process. Election officials reported a comprehensive security strategy at all polling stations to ensure peaceful voting.
It was the first assembly elections in ten years in J&K and also a first in the Union Territory after the abrogation of special status under Article 370 in August 2019. According to an EC statement J&K saw a 7 per cent increase in the number of candidates contesting from assembly elections in 2014.
Women candidates also made a significant leap, increasing from 28 to 43 in the corresponding period, while independent candidates saw a 26 per cent rise, further contributing to the expanding electoral landscape and grassroots political participation, it said.
The election witnessed a multi-cornered fight for the 90 seats. While the NC and the Congress are fighting the elections in an alliance, the People's Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the two other major players.
As voting concluded peacefully across all phases, attention now turns to the election results. The outcome will reveal whether the NC-Congress alliance succeeds or if the PDP can regain ground, or how the BJP's changes since the abrogation of Article 370 will impact the region. Results will be announced on October 8.
Assembly Elections 2024 | In the first assembly polls since the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP face a rejuvenated and vindicated Opposition in the Haryana assembly polls. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is voting after almost a decade and it remains to be seen how the abrogation of Article 370 has impacted the political landscape of the Valley. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.