JAMMU/SRINAGAR: The three border districts of Kashmir -- Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara -- registered a voter turnout of 60 percent, with traditional boycott bastions of Sopore and Baramulla towns witnessing the highest turnout in an election in the last three decades.
However, the turnout in the 16 Assembly segments of these three districts on Tuesday was nearly 5 percent less than what was recorded in the 2014 Assembly polls.
A voter turnout of 65.48 percent was recorded till 5 pm in the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Tuesday, according to Election Commission data.
Polling began at 7 am and concluded at 6pm on Tuesday in 40 Assembly segments across seven districts, including the winter capital Jammu.
The votes will be counted on October 8.
According to the election commission data, Sopore town, which was once a hotbed of separatism and militancy, witnessed a turnout of 41.44 percent—11 percent more than the 2014 Assembly polls.
In the Baramulla Assembly seat, nearly 48 percent of voters exercised their franchise. The turnout in this election was 8 percent more than in 2014.
The Pattan Assembly segment also registered a higher voter turnout compared to 2014, as nearly 61 percent of the electorate cast their votes.
One of the key factors attributed to the higher voter turnout in Sopore was the presence of Aijaz Guru, the brother of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, as a contestant.
In Baramulla, too, Jamaat-e-Islami-backed independent candidate Abdul Rehman Shalla entering the fray seems to have had a positive effect on the voter turnout.
However, some of the constituencies that had seen high voter turnout in the Assembly elections 10 years ago, saw a drop in percentage.
Among the areas that saw a substantial dip were Lok Sabha member Sheikh Abdul Rashid's native Langate segment and Kupwara and Handwara segments, the two seats where People's Conference president Sajad Lone is contesting.
Border constituencies of Uri and Karnah also saw more than a 10 percent dip in the turnout.
While 82.85 percent of voters had cast their votes in Uri in 2014, the number fell to 64.81 percent this time.
Sonawari segment in Bandipora district also saw a dip of around 15 percent -- from 80.77 percent in 2014 to 65.56 percent this time.
Long queues outside polling stations since early morning marked the enthusiasm among people who voted for the first time in the Assembly elections post the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
More than 39.18 lakh eligible voters are set to decide the fate of 415 candidates, including two former deputy chief ministers, Tara Chand and Muzaffar Baig, and several former ministers and legislators.
Officials said polling was going on peacefully in all segments, including special polling stations along the International Border and Line of Control (LoC) with no untoward incident reported from anywhere.
A voter turnout of 65.48 percent was recorded till 5 pm.
Udhampur district recorded the highest turnout of 72.91 percent, followed by Samba (72.41 percent), Kathua (70.53 percent), Jammu (66.79 percent), Bandipora (63.33 percent), Kupwara (62.76 percent), and Baramulla (55.73 percent).
Among the constituencies, Chhamb in Jammu district was leading with 77.35 percent polling recorded in the first 10 hours.
Sopore segment, once a terrorist and separatist stronghold, recorded the lowest turnout of 41.44 percent, the EC data showed.
In Jammu district's 11 segments, Bishnah (SC) recorded 72.75 percent polling, Suchetgarh (SC) 68.02 percent, R S Pura-Jammu South 61.65 percent, Bahu 57.07 percent, Jammu East 60.21 percent, Nagrota 72.94 percent, Jammu West 56.31 percent, and Jammu North 60.79 percent, Akhnoor (SC) 76.28 percent, Marh (SC) 76.10 percent and Chhamb 77.35 percent.
In the six seats of Kathua district, Bani recorded 71.24 percent voter turnout, Billawar 69.64 percent, Basohli 67.24 percent, Jasrota 71.79 percent, Kathua (SC) 71.49 percent and Hiranagar 71.18 percent.
In Udhampur district's four segments, Udhampur West recorded 73.20 percent, Udhampur East 74.07 percent, Chenani 73.79 percent and Ramnagar (SC) 70.38 percent polling.
In the three seats of Samba district, Ramgarh (SC) recorded 73.10 percent polling, Samba 71.16 percent and Vijaypur 73.05 percent.
In Baramulla district's seven seats, Sopore recorded 41.44 percent, Rafiabad 58.39 percent, Uri 64.81 percent, Baramulla 47.95 percent, Gulmarg 64.19 percent, Wagoora-Kreeri 56.43 percent and Pattan 60.87 percent.
In the six seats of Kupwara district, Karnah registered 66.30 percent, Tregham 62.27 percent, Kupwara 59.68 percent, Lolab 61.22 percent, Handwara 69.06 percent and Langate 59.81 percent.
In the three seats of Bandipora district, Sonawari registered 65.56 percent, Bandipora 58.60 percent and Gurez (ST) 75.89 percent.
Having gained voting rights for the first time following the abrogation of Article 370, enthusiastic West Pakistani refugees, Valmiki Samaj and Gorkha community members thronged polling stations in the early hours to exercise their franchise.
They had previously participated in the Block Development Council and the District Development Council polls in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
More than 400 companies of security forces, including paramilitary and armed police personnel, have been deployed to ensure smooth voting.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray in this phase are Raman Bhalla (R S Pura), Usman Majid (Bandipora), Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurez), Taj Mohiuddin (Uri), Basharat Bukhari (Wagoora-Kreeri), Imran Ansari (Pattan), Ghulam Hassan Mir (Gulmarg), Choudhary Lal Singh (Basohli), Rajiv Jasrotia (Jasrota), Manohar Lal Sharma (Billawar), Sham Lal Sharma, and Ajay
A voter turnout of 61.38 per cent was recorded in the first phase of the elections on September 18 and 57.31 per cent in the second phase on September 25. The results are scheduled to be announced on October 8.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray in this phase are Raman Bhalla (R S Pura), Usman Majid (Bandipora), Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurez), Taj Mohiuddin (Uri), Basharat Bukhari (Wagoora-Kreeri), Imran Ansari (Pattan), Ghulam Hassan Mir (Gulmarg), Choudhary Lal Singh (Basohli), Rajiv Jasrotia (Jasrota), Manohar Lal Sharma (Billawar), Sham Lal Sharma, and Ajay Kumar Sadhotra (Jammu North).
To facilitate voter participation, the Election Commission has set up 5,060 polling stations and ensured 100 per cent webcasting across all constituencies.
Of the total, 974 are urban polling stations and 4,086 are rural.
Special initiatives to enhance participation include 240 special polling stations, 50 pink polling stations managed by women and 43 polling stations manned by persons with disabilities.
Additionally, there are 45 green polling stations promoting environmental awareness, 29 polling stations located near the Line of Control and the International Border for border residents, and 33 unique polling stations.
For migrant voters of the Kashmir division, 24 special polling stations -- 19 in Jammu, four in Delhi and one in Udhampur district -- have been established.
Officials said a comprehensive security strategy has been implemented at each polling station to ensure peaceful voting.
