Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Polls: 58.19% Voter Turnout in First Phase
In the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, a voter turnout of 58.19% was recorded till 5 pm. According to Election Commission data, Kishtwar had the highest turnout at 77.23%, followed by Doda at 69.33%, Ramban at 67.71%, Kulgam at 59.62%, Shopian at 53.64%, and Anantnag at 54.17%. Pulwama recorded the lowest turnout at 43.87%.
Twenty-four assembly constituencies went to the polls in the first phase, including 16 seats in the Kashmir region and eight in the Jammu region. The second and third phases of voting will be held on September 25 and October 1, respectively, with votes being counted on October 8.
This is the first election in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Several political parties and independents are contesting, with the National Congress and Congress forming an alliance, though they are also in friendly contests on some seats. Leaders have been campaigning vigorously to boost their party candidates’ prospects.
Sheikh Abdul Rashid, known as Engineer Rashid, received interim bail from a Delhi court, adding another dimension to the election. His Awami Ittehad Party is contesting the polls. Rashid previously contested the Lok Sabha elections as an Independent and defeated National Conference leader Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla seat. National Conference and PDP leaders have criticized BJP following Rashid’s release on bail.
Doubts Revealed
Jammu and Kashmir -: Jammu and Kashmir is a region in northern India. It used to be a state but is now a Union Territory.
Assembly Polls -: Assembly polls are elections where people vote to choose their representatives in the state or union territory’s legislative assembly.
Voter Turnout -: Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who actually cast their vote in an election.
Kishtwar -: Kishtwar is a district in Jammu and Kashmir. It had the highest voter turnout in this election phase.
Pulwama -: Pulwama is another district in Jammu and Kashmir. It had the lowest voter turnout in this election phase.
Constituencies -: Constituencies are specific areas that elect one representative to the legislative assembly.
Article 370 -: Article 370 was a part of the Indian Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. It was removed in 2019.
Political Parties -: Political parties are groups of people who share similar ideas about how the government should be run and work together to get their candidates elected.
Independents -: Independents are candidates who run in elections without being part of any political party.
Engineer Rashid -: Engineer Rashid is a politician from Jammu and Kashmir. He got interim bail, which means he was temporarily released from jail.
