J&K Elections Phase 3: 65.46% voter turnout recorded as people celebrate festival of democracy

The third and final phase of Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday saw a turnout of 65.48 per cent till 5 pm, which is likely to surpass the Lok Sabha poll turnout in the corresponding seven districts, according to latest data available.
In the recently-held parliamentary polls, the turnout in these districts was recorded at 66.78 per cent.

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.

A voter turnout of 56.01 per cent was recorded till 3 pm in the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Tuesday, according to Election Commission data.

The highlight of the voting in this phase will be the participation of West Pakistani refugees from the Valmiki Samaj and Gorkha communities, who got voting rights in the assembly, urban local bodies and panchayat elections only after the abrogation of Article 370.

As of 1 pm IST, the voting turnout had climbed to 44.08 per cent as people queued up in long lines across polling booths to cast their ballot. 

Udhampur had the highest turnout at 51.66 per cent, while the lowest turnout was recorded in Baramulla with 36.6 per cent.

National Conference candidate from Sopore, Irshad Rasool Kar casts his vote in the third and the last phase of Assembly elections today. 

“With the polling gaining momentum with long queues of voters waiting eagerly to cast their ballot, all the 40 assembly constituencies across seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir have recorded 28.12 per cent voter turnout till 11 am in the third phase of Assembly Elections”, communicated the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K.

“No party will win more than 25 seat. J&K is a special state, but it has become a hub of conspiracies. The vision for the upliftment of Kashmiris is very important. If I would have got one more week to campaign we would have won 35-40 seats. Still, the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) will emerge as a credible alternative," said Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) President Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid. 

According to Election Commission data, 11.60 per cent voter turnout had been recorded till 9 am IST in the UT. 

"Jammu and Kashmir needs a visionary government that can also make strong decisions for the security, peace, and stability of the region. Today, as the public casts their votes in the final phase, let them elect a government through their votes that will keep Jammu and Kashmir free from terrorism, separatism, nepotism, and corruption and is resolute in protecting the rights of every community," said Home Minster Amit Shah on X. 

“Vote for a historic change towards tourism, education, employment, and holistic development in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added. 

Voters can be seen queuing up in large numbers to vote in the early phase of the polls. 

"Today is the third and last round of voting in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. I request all voters to come forward and cast their votes to make the festival of democracy a success," said PM Narendra Modi in a post on X (formerly Twitter). 

"I am confident that apart from the young friends who are going to vote for the first time, women power will also participate in the voting in large numbers," he added. 

Among 3.9 million eligible to exercise their franchise, there are over two million male voters, 1.9 million female voters and 57 third-gender voters.

As many as 190,000 youths between the age of 18-19 years, along with 35,860 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and 32,953 elderly voters above the age of 85 are also eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase. 

The election commission is also making sure to use technology during the polls. Webcasting of Polling stations and GPS for vehicles has been done in almost All Polling stations.  

They will have CCTV-type cameras for live webcasting to control rooms established at the district and CEO offices. Cameras will be positioned in such a way so that they don’t violate the secrecy of the vote. The voting will take place from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm IST.

The important candidates in the fray in the last phase of assembly elections are Sajad Gani Lone of the People's Conference, Muzaffar Hussain Baig as Independent, Raman Bhalla from Congress and Tara Chand from Congress. 

The third and last phase of the assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir is underway. All the preparations have been made and ample security arrangements have been put in place, especially in the areas close to the Line of Control (LoC).