Rahul Gandhi Promises to Restore Jammu and Kashmir’s Statehood During Second Phase of Elections
The second phase of polling in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir saw a voter turnout of 54% by 5 pm, according to the Election Commission of India. Voting began at 7 am on Wednesday, with over 25 lakh eligible voters deciding the fate of 239 candidates across 26 constituencies in six districts.
In this phase, 25,78,099 voters are eligible to cast their ballot, including 13,12,730 male voters, 12,65,316 female voters, and 53 third-gender voters.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated that the opposition will use its full force to pressurize the Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. Speaking at a public rally in Sopore, he said, “For the first time in history, a state was downgraded into a ‘union territory,’ and injustice was served to the people of the territory. The INDIA bloc will fight for its restoration.”
Gandhi added, “We wanted that the statehood be restored before elections. All the people of Jammu and Kashmir wanted the elections to take place after the restoration of the statehood. The first and foremost issue is regarding your statehood. Several UTs have been made states, and states have been bifurcated. But this is the first time in history that a state has been turned into a Union Territory. It did not happen, the first step is election. But after this, the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir has to be restored.”
He further stated, “INDIA Alliance will pressurize PM Modi in the Parliament for this. If they don’t do this, then we will restore your statehood as soon as the INDIA bloc forms the government at the centre. If we want this apple to reach America and Japan, statehood has to be restored.”
Notably, Rahul Gandhi’s rally in J-K coincided with the second polling phase in J-K that is being held after a decade. The last phase of polls will be held on October 1, and counting of votes will be held on October 8.
Doubts Revealed
Rahul Gandhi -: Rahul Gandhi is a leader from the Congress party in India. He is the son of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, who were also important leaders in India.
Jammu and Kashmir -: Jammu and Kashmir is a region in the northern part of India. It used to be a state but is now a Union Territory, which means it is directly controlled by the central government.
Statehood -: Statehood means being a state. Rahul Gandhi is promising to make Jammu and Kashmir a state again, instead of a Union Territory.
Second Phase of Elections -: Elections often happen in phases, which means they are done in parts over several days. The second phase is the second part of this process.
54% voter turnout -: Voter turnout is the percentage of people who voted. 54% means that a little more than half of the people who could vote actually voted.
25 lakh voters -: 25 lakh means 2.5 million. So, 2.5 million people are voting in this election.
239 candidates -: Candidates are people who are trying to get elected. There are 239 people trying to win in this election.
Constituencies -: Constituencies are areas that elect one representative. There are 26 such areas in this election.
Centre -: The Centre refers to the central government of India, which is in New Delhi.
INDIA bloc -: The INDIA bloc is a group of political parties in India that have come together to work on common goals.
Final phase of elections -: The final phase is the last part of the election process. It will happen on October 1.
Vote counting -: Vote counting is when officials count all the votes to see who won. This will happen on October 8.