The third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls saw a voter turnout of over 69.65% on Tuesday (October 1, 2024) with the polling conducted peacefully, according to the Election Commission.
Among the districts, Udhampur recorded the highest polling percentage of 76.09, followed by Samba at 75.88, while Baramulla was the lowest at 61.03, according to provisional data till 11.50 p.m.
A voter turnout of 61.38% and 57.13% had been recorded in the first and second phases, respectively.
The Union Territory, where elections were held after a decade and for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370, voted in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.
J&K Assembly Polls Phase 3 Highlights: Over 68% polling recorded in final Phase
The Supreme Court had last year while upholding the scrapping of Article 370 directed that Assembly Elections be held by September 30. The last Assembly Elections held in Jammu and Kashmir were in November-December 2014 in five phases.
In the third phase on Tuesday, polling took place in 40 constituencies and an electorate of more than 39.18 lakh voted to decide the fate of 415 candidates. These included two former Deputy Chief Ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Baig, and several former Ministers and legislators. Jammu and Kashmir has around 87.09 lakh voters. Of the total electorate, 44.46 lakh are men, 42.62 lakh women, while 3.71 lakh people are first-time voters.
‘Deepening democracy’
“Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections have marked a significant deepening of democracy which will echo in the pages of history and continue to inspire a democratic spirit of the region for years to come,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said in a statement.
Dedicating these elections to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, he said: “The peaceful and participative elections are historic, wherein democracy is taking root more profoundly than ever before, driven by the will of people of J&K”.
The poll body said in the statement that no repolls have been ordered so far and compared to 2014 when 170 incidents were reported, no major law and order incidents were reported this time.
“There have been no complaints pertaining to arbitrary preventive detention of political functionaries in these elections which is unprecedented,” the EC statement said.
Seizures worth ₹130 crore, the highest ever in the history of J&K Assembly election and even surpassing ₹100.94 crore seized during the recent Lok Sabha election. The bulk of seizures included drugs worth ₹110.45 crore, it said.
For migrant voters of the Kashmir division, 24 special polling stations - 19 in Jammu, four in Delhi and one in Udhampur district - had been established.
Published - October 01, 2024 10:43 pm IST
