Phase-III voter turnout in J&K revised to 69.65%

Jammu and Kashmir recorded a voter turnout of nearly 70 per cent in the third and final phase of the Assembly elections held here yesterday, according to the Election Commission (EC).

PDP leader joins football club

• A day after the third and final phase of the J&K Assembly elections, politicians were seen relaxing in J&K. Waheed Para, senior PDP leader, who was one of the star campaigners for the party, posted pics on X after joining a football club.

In the first and second phase of the Assembly poll, the UT witnessed 61.38 per cent and 57.31 per cent polling, respectively.

A release issued by the EC said in third phase of the Assembly elections, J&K “recorded an approximate voter turnout of 69.65 per cent as of 11:45 pm on Tuesday.” “The figure will continue to be updated by field-level officers as the remaining polling parties keep returning to headquarters,” the release said.

As per the EC figures, of the seven districts that went to the polls on Tuesday, Bandipora recorded 67.68 per cent turnout, Baramulla 61.03 per cent, Jammu 71.40 per cent, Kathua 73.34 per cent, Kupwara 66.79 per cent, Samba 75.88 per cent and Udhampur 76.09 per cent.

J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said: “The youth deserve all credit for good turnout as they voted in huge numbers”.

The third and final phase of the Assembly elections covered 40 Assembly constituencies across seven districts of J&K. As many as 16 Assembly segments of the Kashmir division went to the polls on Tuesday, while 24 segments went to polls in Jammu.

According to the Election Commission, these elections witnessed a significant increase in voter turnout in areas which have been infamous for militancy and boycotting democratic processes.

As compared to the 2014 Assembly elections, the voting percentage increased by 12.97 per cent in the Pulwama segment, 9.52 per cent in the Zainapora Assembly segment in Shopian and 9.16 per cent in the Eidgah Assembly segment in Srinagar this time, “reflecting growing confidence in the electoral process.”

In comparison to the 2014 Assembly poll, J&K also witnessed seven per cent increase in the number of candidates fighting the elections. After the delimitation exercise in J&K, nine seats were reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) this elections.

“The role of money and muscle power has been curtailed to a significant extent. Vigilance and seizures have been fortified by the coordinated efforts of enforcement agencies, resulting in seizures worth Rs 130 crore, highest ever in the history of the J&K elections and even surpassing Rs 100.94 crore done during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” said the EC.