32% registered Kashmiri Pandits exercise franchise
Jammu, May 20
Thirty-two per cent of Kashmiri migrant voters exercised their franchise in the Baramulla parliamentary constituency where voting was held in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election on Monday.
Officials said there was a marked increase in polling by migrants this time as compared to 2019 and 2014.
Sopore sheds chhota Pak tag
- Once dubbed chhota Pakistan, J&K’s Sopore town witnessed a remarkable shift as voters flocked to polling stations to exercise their franchise in the LS poll, marking a departure from the low participation witnessed in previous polls
- Formerly a hotbed of militancy and dominated by foreign terrorists in the 1990s, Sopore and Rafiabad areas experienced a resurgence of electoral engagement with a high voter turnout. Sopore is part of Baramulla constituency
“Thirty-two per cent polling was registered by Kashmiri migrants for the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency,” Relief Commissioner Arvind Karwani told PTI. He said of the 20,333 eligible voters in the community, around 6,500 cast their votes.
Polling began at 7 am on 2,103 stations across the constituency, Karwani said, adding that the process was peaceful. The migrant Kashmiri Pandits turned out in large numbers to vote earlier in the day despite the heat wave, expressing strong support for the creation of dedicated townships for their return and rehabilitation, as well as the restoration of temples in the valley. However, some of them alleged that they returned without casting their votes as their names were missing from the electoral rolls.
Twenty-eight polling stations were set up for the migrants, including 21 in Jammu, four in Delhi and one in Udhampur, along with three auxiliary stations.
