Srinagar: : A voter turnout of 54.11 percent was recorded till 7 pm in the second phase of polling in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as per the Election Commission of India.
Budgam recorded 58.97 pc, Ganderbal 58.81 pc, Poonch 71.59 pc, Rajouri 68.22 pc, Reasi 71.81 pc and Srinagar 27.37 pc till 7pm, as per the date shared by the ECI.
“Voting took place in a tranquil atmosphere free of fear and intimidation. Voters inhabiting the areas near the border were also empowered to exercise their franchise at 55 border polling stations set up near the LoC in 89 Poonch Haveli and 90 Mendhar AC in Poonch district and 51 such polling stations in Rajouri district. These border polling stations saw voting today in line with the Commission’s resolve to bring even the remotest corners of the country into the democratic fold,” ECI said in a release on Wednesday
“As of 7 PM, a voter turnout of 54.11% was recorded at the polling stations. The overall voter turnout recorded in these six districts that went for polls in Phase 2 have also surpassed the turnout recorded in Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Phase-1 of the Jammu-Kashmir Assembly elections had also witnessed an encouraging response by voters with a voter turnout of 61.38% at Polling Station across 24 ACs,” the ECI said in a statement.
The statement said that CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Shri Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had maintained a constant supervision of the polling process to ensure that the polling took place in an incident free manner.
Earlier in the day, interacting with media at Nirvachan Sadan, CEC Rajiv Kumar said that these elections are, “History in the making”, the echoes of which will be carried through posterity. He added that the valleys and the mountains which had once witnessed fear and boycott, are now taking part in the democratic festivities or “Jashn-e-Jamhuriyat”.
Strong security measures were in place, creating a conducive environment for voters to cast their vote without fear or intimidation, the release added.
Polling for the third phase will be held on October 1, 2024. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 8.
Second Phase Polling Updates
Voter turnout till 3 pm
46.122% voting has taken place till 3 pm in Jammu and Kashmir during the second phase as per the Election Commission. The highest voter turnout has been recorded in Poonch at 63.91%, while the lowest voting has been recorded in Srinagar at 22.62%.
Voter turnout till 1 pm
36.93% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm in the second phase of J&K Assembly elections. The highest voting was recorded in Poonch at 49.94%, while the lowest voting was recorded in Srinagar at 17.95%.
Long Queues at Polling Station: Election Officer Srinagar
Bilal Mohideen, District Election Officer, Srinagar said, “There are 8 assembly constituencies here, in which 7.76 lakh voters are casting their votes at 932 polling stations. There are long queues at all polling stations, we are expecting a good voting percentage.”
Voter Turnout till 11 am
Till 11 am, 24.10% of voting has taken place in Jammu and Kashmir. The highest voting was recorded in Poonch at 33.06%, while the lowest voting was recorded in Srinagar at 11.67%.
Voter Turnout till 9 am
Jammu and Kashmir recorded a 10.22 percent voter turnout as of 9 am in the second phase of polls, according to the Election Commission of India.
As per the ECI, the Poonch district recorded the 14.41 percent of turnout, followed by Reasi with 13.37 percent, Rajouri with 12.71 percent, Ganderbal with 12.61 percent, Budgam with 10.91 percent turnout and Srinagar with the lowest voter turnout at 4.70 percent.
Polling across 26 Assembly constituencies in six districts of Jammu and Kashmir began on Wednesday morning to decide the fate of 239 candidates in the fray. Voters started gathering at polling booths in the early morning to exercise their franchise as a clear autumn sky greeted them.
Most polling stations in the six districts of the Union Territory including Poonch, Rajouri and Reasi in Jammu division and Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal in the Valley wore a festive look.
Security forces drawn from the local police and the CRPF exchanged smiles with the voters as they started pouring out at polling stations. A total of 25.78 lakh electors are eligible to exercise franchise in the second phase of J&K elections which started at 7 a.m. and will end at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Voting for the third and last phase of J&K Legislative Assembly polls will be held on October 1 and counting will take place on October 8.
