Udhampur constituency profile: Main fight between BJP’s Dr Jitendra Singh and Congress' Lal Singh

With the first phase of the Parliamentary election commencing on April 19, in Jammu and Kashmirthe first seat to go to polls is the Udhampur constituency. The Election Commission of India recently releasedvoters'data and said that over 16,23,195 people registered as voters. This includes 8,45,283 males, 7,77,899 females and 13 transgender who will decide the fate of 12 candidates in the fray.

The Udhampur seat is currently held by Dr Jitendra Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

This parliamentary election is going to be a major fight between Dr Jitendra Singh and Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh. The sitting MP of Udhampur, Dr Jitendra Singh, has a voter base of 7.24 lakhs (724,000) which makes it a little difficult for other candidates to win over him. However, regional political parties like the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party supporting the Congress candidate will lead to a tough fight between BJP and Congress.

Five districts, which include Kathua, Doda, Ramban, Udhampur, and Kishtwar, arepart of the Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency. Over 2,637 polling stations have been set up across the whole constituency. The majority of polling stations have been set up in rural areas, while 180 polling stations have been set up in urban areas.

''We have put up 654 parties in total, out of which 11 departed yesterday, while 642 parties willdeparttoday. We have completed all our preparations and parties that are to be sent to the far-flung areas have already been sent. All the security measures are in place, and we are hopeful, the voter turnout will be good this time. There is a prediction of rain, but we request the people to come out and cast their votes. We have also established 16 model polling stations where special arrangements will be made for the voters, '' said Saloni Rai, DC Udhampur.

The Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency of Jammu and Kashmir covers around 20,230 square kilometres of the Union Territory (UT). Districts like Udhampur and Kathua are predominantly Hindu majority areas, while Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, and Bhaderwah are mostly Muslim-dominated.

The Election Commission of India also said that there are 23,637 Persons with Disabilities, including 14,362 males and 9,275 females. There are over 25,632 registered voters above the age of 80, which includes 12,020 male voters and 13,612 female voters.