The third and final phase of voting concluded in Jammu and Kashmir and the focus has now shifted to the election results. Tuesday’s polling process went smoothly without any reports of violence.
Voting took place across 40 assembly seats – 24 in Jammu and 16 in Kashmir. Today’s election will decide the future of 415 candidates.
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).
Will an alliance between the National Conference and Congress bear fruit or will the People’s Democratic Party make a comeback in the region or will the abrogation of Article 370 by the BJP government five years ago change its fate in Jammu and Kashmir? All of this will be decided on October 8.
Voter turnout
J&K logged an approximate voter turnout of 65.48 per cent in the third phase of the election, with the highest being recorded in Udhampur and Samba at 72.91 per cent and 72.41 per cent respectively.
The lowest turnout was recorded in Baramulla at 55.73 per cent.
The third phase of J&K Assembly elections saw highest voter turnout than the first two phases.
West Pakistani refugees vote for the first time
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.
With inputs from PTI
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