Phase 1 of J-K polls proceeds peacefully; 58.19% voter turnout recorded

PTI, Srinagar/Jammu: Men and women, the young and old, some too frail to walk and others patiently waiting their turn, queued up outside polling booths in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday as phase one of the union territory’s first assembly elections since 2019 proceeded peacefully and steadily. Voting began at 7 am. By 3 pm, voter turnout was recorded at 50.65 per cent. Encouraged by the sight of long lines of people waiting to exercise their franchise, officials hoped the turnout would be significantly higher by 6 pm when voting closes.

The elections to the 90-member assembly are the first since Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated and the state was downgraded into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in August 2019. The last assembly elections were held in 2014. Of the 90 seats, 24 are voting in the first phase 16 in the Kashmir Valley and eight in Jammu region. Over 2.3 million voters are eligible to vote to determine the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 Independents. Security forces fanned out to ensure that there was no trouble. The day was largely without incident except for reports of clashes between political workers in some areas of Bijbehara and D H Pora.

Officials said the highest voting percentage among the 24 assembly segments was recorded in Jammu region’s Inderwal at 72.20 per cent, followed by Padder-Nagseni at 71.08 per cent and Kishtwar at 67.58 per cent. Doda West also recorded a high turnout of 66.75 per cent. In the Kashmir valley, the Pahalgam segment recorded the highest turnout of 58.89 per cent. It was followed by D H Pora at 55.14 per cent, Kulgam at 50.75, Dooru at 50.50 per cent, and Kokernag (ST) at 50 per cent. The lowest 32.87 per cent was recorded in Tral, they said.