A record 65.48 percent voter turnout was witnessed till 5 pm on Tuesday, in the third and final phase of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, polling for which was held for 40 Constituencies across seven districts, JK Chief Electoral Officer said.
In Jammu region, Chhamb assembly segment witnessed a record turnout of 77.35 percent, Akhnoor 76.28 percent , Marh 76.1 percent, Udhampur East 74.07 percent, Vijaypur 73.05 percent, Udhampur West 73.2 percent, Ramgarh 73.1 percent, Bishnah 72.75 percent, Jasrota 71.79 percent, Kathua 71.49 percent, Bani 71.24 percent, Samba 71.16 percent, Jammu North 76.1 percent, R S Pora Jammu South 61.65 percent, and Jammu east 60.21 percent till 5 pm.
The lowest 56.31 percent voting was recorded in Jammu West.
In Kashmir valley, a whopping 75.89 percent voting was recorded in Gurez, followed by 69.06 percent in Handwara , 66.3 percent in Karnah, 65.56 percent in Sonawari,64.19 percent in Gulmarg, 64.81 percent in Uri, 62.27 percent in Trehgam, 60.87 percent in Pattan, 61.22 percent in Lolab, 59.81 percent in Langate and 59.68 percent in Kupwara.
The lowest 41.44 percent polling was recorded in Sopore followed by 47.95 percent in Baramulla.
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 Jammu region, an impressive over 50 percent voting was recorded in Bani, Jasrota, Billawar, Ramgarh, Marh, Akhnoor, Udhampur west, Udhampur East, Ramnagar, Ramgarh, Chenani and Chhamb assembly constituencies during the first six hours of voting.
The lowest 35.54 percent was recorded in Jammu West, 36.88 percent in Jammu East and Jammu north 37. 93 percent till 1 pm.
In Kashmir valley, 52.38 percent voting was recorded in Gurez, 47.1 percent in Handwara, 45.35 percent in Karnah, 43.3 percent in Sonawari, 38.64 percent in Pattan, 41.28 percent in Trehgam, 41.27 percent in Lolab, 41.49 percent Uri, 40.99 percent in Gulmarg, while the lowest 27.76 percent voting was registered in Sopore assembly segment till 1 pm.
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.
In Bandipora district, more than 516 voters of Village Kanyari in Sonawari constituency on Tuesday boycotted the election in protest against the government for not providing land to construct their homes.
The villagers who had constructed their houses on government land, said in 2014 flood destroyed their houses and had approached the government for providing alternative land for the construction of houses which so far has not happened.
However, the Returning Officer (RO) of Bandipora Shabir Ahmad Wani told UNI “the negotiations with the villagers are going on and cannot offer any assurance in view of Model Code Conduct (MCC)”.
He said “the Deputy Commissioner is most likely to visit Kanyari to motivate the voters and if possible the polling could be extended till 8 pm”.
A 100-year-old Mala Begum cast her vote at the Pink Polling Station at Chattibandi in Bandipora and another elderly woman identified as Khatija, carried on shoulders by her son, cast her vote in the Uri assembly segment.
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.
