Srinagar, Sept 25: The penultimate phase of the elections to the Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly ended peacefully with overall voter turnout of 54.11%, officials said on Wednesday.
Reasi district recorded the highest turnout of 71.81% while Srinagar saw the lowest, recording 27.37%, Election Commission of India said.
Voting for 26 assembly segments spread over six districts— Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal in Kashmir valley and Poonch, Rajouri and Reasi in Jammu region started at 7 am and culminated at 6pm.
“Voting across 26 ACs was held peacefully without any incidents of violence,” Election Commission of India said. As of 7 PM, a voter turnout of 54.11% was recorded at the polling stations, it said. The overall voter turnout recorded in these six districts that went for polls in Phase 2 have also surpassed the turnout recorded in Lok Sabha Elections 2024, it said.
Phase-1 of the Jammu-Kashmir Assembly elections had also witnessed an encouraging response by voters with a voter turnout of 61.38% at Polling Station across 24 ACs, the poll body said.
According to data released by the poll body, Reasi recorded voting percentage of 71.81%, Poonch 71.59% , Rajouri 68.22%, Budgam 58.97%, Ganderbal 58.81% and Srinagar with 27.37%.
239 Candidates were in the fray including 233 men and 6 women candidates in the penultimate phase of the elections. A total of over 1.2 lakh electors were in the age of 18-19 for phase
CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had maintained a constant supervision of the polling process to ensure that the polling took place in an incident free manner, the poll body said.
Earlier in the day, interacting with media at Nirvachan Sadan, CEC Rajiv Kumar said that these elections are “history in the making”, the echoes of which will be carried through posterity. He said that the valleys and the mountains which had once witnessed fear and boycott, are now taking part in the democratic festivities or “Jashn-e-Jamhuriyat”.
“Strong security measures were in place creating a conducive environment for voters to cast their vote without fear or intimidation,” the poll bosy said, adding, adding, “Webcasting was in place in all polling stations to ensure transparency of the voting process.” While demonstrating the visuals emerging live from the Polling Stations in Jammu & Kashmir, CEC Kumar lauded the voters seen patiently waiting for their turn to vote at the Polling Stations and said that it is a resounding statement of their belief in democracy.
The ECI said young voters reflected the aspirations of peace, democracy and progress as first time voters proudly showcased their inked fingers after voting.
Voting took place in a tranquil atmosphere free of fear and intimidation. Voters inhabiting the areas near the border were also empowered to exercise their franchise at 55 Border Polling Stations set up near the LoC in 89 Poonch Haveli and 90- Mendhar AC in Poonch district and 51 such polling stations in Rajouri district. These Border Polling Stations saw voting today in line with the Commission’s resolve to bring even the remotest corners of the country into the democratic fold.
Kashmiri Migrant voters were also empowered to exercise their franchise through 24 Special Polling Stations setup in Jammu (19), Udhampur(1) and Delhi (4). Earlier, the Commission had eased the process for Kashmiri migrant voters by abolishing the cumbersome Form-M and enabling self-certification. Home-voting facility, introduced for the first time in Assembly elections in J&K saw democracy being taken to the doorsteps of those who are bound by physical limitations. Many voters aged above 85 years and PwDs with 40% benchmark disability opted to vote from the comfort of their homes. The entire process was videographed to ensure transparency while preserving the secrecy of the ballot. As part of ECI’s commitment to make the voting experience pleasant and memorable, Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF’s) like drinking water, electricity, toilet, ramp, furniture, adequate shelter, helpdesk, wheel chair & volunteers amongst others were provided at all Polling Stations. One polling station each, exclusively managed by women and PwDs, was set up in every AC for giving a comfortable voting experience. (GNS)
