Voter enthusiasm in J&K polls third makes turnout outstrip earlier rounds, crosses 65 per cent

SRINAGAR/JAMMU, (IANS): The 'festival of democracy' was at the height of its fervour in the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Tuesday as the turnout, at 65.46 per cent, crossed the figures of the earlier two rounds, even with an hour still to go before the close of polling.

As per Election Commission data, till 5 p.m., 65.46 per cent voters had exercised their democratic rights in 40 seats spanning seven districts in both the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley, surpassing the 62 per cent and 58 per cent turnout, respectively, in the first and second phase of the Assembly polls.

As per the ECI figures, Bandipora district polled 63.33 per cent, Baramulla 55.73 per cent, Kupwara 62.76 per cent, Samba 72.41 per cent, Kathua 70.53 per cent, Udhampur 72.91 per cent, and Jammu district polled 66.79 per cent till 5 p.m. The highest turnout was recorded in the Chhamb seat in Jammu, at 77.35 per cent, followed by Akhnoor (SC), in the same district at 76.28 per cent, followed by Gurez in Bandipora with 75.89 per cent. The lowest turnout was witnessed in the Sopore seat of Baramulla, at 41.44 per cent, followed by Baramulla with 47.95 per cent, and 56.31 per cent in Jammu West.

The enthusiasm was discernible in all sections of the electorate, young and old, males and females, with women voters also coming out early to exercise their franchise.

Electors, spanning first-timers to the elderly, thronged almost all the 5,060 polling booths in 40 Assembly constituencies as voting started at 7 a.m. with a bright autumn sun greeting voters when they started pouring out to exercise their democratic right.

Of these, 1,842 polling stations, managed by over 8,000 polling staff, were set up in the Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora districts in the Kashmir Valley, while 3,218 polling stations were set up in Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Udhampur districts of Jammu division.

Among the voters were a 106-year-old wheelchair-bound woman in Ramgarh (SC) seat in Samba, 102-year-old Kesar Devi in Udhampur and Taja Begum, of the same age, in Bandipora, a nonagenarian Kashmiri Pandit casting his vote in a special polling station for migrants in the Jagti migrant camp in Jammu, 97-year-old Sardar Gurcharan Singh in Ramgharh (SC), 93-year-old Ashwani Kumar in Basohli seat in Kathua, and 83-year-old Krishna Devi in Jammu, as well as first-time voters like teenagers Sanchita Kapoor in Basohli and Diya Hans in Samba.

Voters were seen wearing woollens at most places in the Valley districts while in the Jammu division, voters still wore summer attire.

Special polling stations had been set up for Kashmiri migrant voters - 11 in Jammu, four in Delhi, and one in Udhampur district.

Men started building queues at the polling stations in Pattan, Sangrama, Kreeri, Tangmarg, Kunzar, Uri town and other places in the Valley while voters wearing traditional Dogri dresses came out in a festive mood in Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, R.S.Pura and other polling stations in Jammu division.

However, on the other hand, no one had come to cast votes at the Kanyari Ghat polling station of the Sonawari Assembly constituency in Bandipora. Voters gathered in large numbers some distance away from the polling station saying that nobody has paid any attention to civic amenities in the area including safe drinking water, roads, electricity and other related issues. Deputy Commissioner, Bandipora was persuading the voters to cast their ballots. Voters said they wanted complete assurance from the authorities to attend to their problems before they entered the polling station.

Enthusiasm was unmatched among the voters in areas close to the international border in Samba, Kathua and Jammu districts as they exchanged greetings with the security forces guarding the polling stations.

Special arrangements were made for old, sick, and infirm voters.

In the third and final phase, 39.18 lakh voters were eligible to decide the political fate of 415 candidates in 11 constituencies in the Jammu district, three in Samba, six in Kathua, and four in Udhampur, as well as Baramulla's seven seats, Kupwara's six and Bandipora's three seats.

Police officials said that sufficient security personnel drawn from the CRPF and J&K Police had been deployed for smooth polling. Area domination around polling stations, securing to and fro passage of poll staff and the general public on the roads and highways was done on Monday itself and deployments moved out with the first light on Tuesday to secure passage of sector officers, poll observers, candidates and other officials connected with the poll process.

Polling was slated to end at 6 p.m. while counting of votes will be taken up on October 8.