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Informist, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024

NEW DELHI – A voter turnout of 63.88% was recorded in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, which were conducted in three phases and concluded on Tuesday, the Election Commission of India said on Thursday. Over 64% of male voters and 63% of registered female voters exercised their franchise.

The turnout was lower from the previous assembly elections held in 2014, when 65.52% votes were cast. Several constituencies in militancy hit south Kashmir--Rajpora, Pampore, Devsar, Kokernag--recorded a fall in the voter turnout. Voter turnout in Rajpora fell to 48.44% from 54% in 2014 assembly elections. In Budgam, there was 52.27% polling this times, down from nearly 66% in 2014. In Ganderbal, the polling came down to 57.12% from around 59%. Kupwara and Bandipore districts too recorded a fall in the voter turnout.

However, the Election Commission said that the overall voting surpassed the 58.58% voter turnout recorded in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The elections for the 90-member Assembly of the Union territory were held in three phases, commencing Sept. 18. The first phase of the elections recorded a voter turnout of over 61%. The second phase, held on Sept. 25, recorded a turnout of 57.31% and the turnout for the third and final phase was 69.69%. The votes will be counted on Tuesday.

The commission said that the elections witnessed a significant increase in voter turnout in areas which have been infamous for militancy and boycotting democratic processes. Polling in the Pulwama seat increased to 50.78% from 38% in the 2014 assembly election. Zainapora seat in Shopian saw a turnout of 55.62%, up from 46% in 2014, and Eidgah seat in Srinagar registered a turnout of 37%, against 27.80% in 2014. The commission said the increase in voter turnout reflects growing confidence in the electoral process in the Valley.

The enforcement agencies have made seizures worth INR 1.3 billion, surpassing INR 1.0 billion done during 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The bulk of seizures included drugs worth INR 1.1 billion, the poll panel said.

Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir are being held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 in the state in August 2019.  End

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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