By : Majid Jahangir
Baramulla/Kupwara, Oct 1 (UNI) Kashmir on Tuesday witnessed an impressive voter turnout of more than 61 percent in the third and final phase of assembly election.
Voters in 16 assembly constituencies across the three border districts of Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora came to the polling stations in large numbers, displaying great enthusiasm.
By the end of the day, as polling concluded, many constituencies had surpassed the turnout recorded in the 2014 Assembly election.
According to officials, Baramulla Assembly constituency recorded a turnout of 47.95%, Uri 64.81%, Rafiabad 58.39%, Pattan 60.87%, Gulmarg 64.19%, Sopore 41.44%, and Wagoora-Kreeri 56.43% in Baramulla district.
In Kupwara district, Kupwara recorded 59.68%, Karnah 66.30%, Trehgam 62.27%, Handwara 69.06%, Lolab 61.22%, and Langate 59.81%.
Bandipora district saw Bandipora constituency at 62%, Sonawari at 65.56%, and Gurez with an impressive 75.89%.
Except Pattan, Sopore and Baramulla, the rest of the 13 Constituencies have witnessed a decrease in the voting percentages compared to the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year.
On the district level, the voting percentages in Kupwara was 62.76%, Bandipora 64.85%, and Baramulla 55.73%.
This is the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade, as well as the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, which had previously granted special status to the region. The last assembly polls were held in 2014.
The enthusiasm was palpable, even in areas previously known for poll boycotts. In Baramulla’s old town, once a stronghold of boycotters, young men and women could be seen waiting in queue outside a polling station at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School.
“Boycott times have passed, and those who once advocated for it are now participating,” said Ishfaq Ahmed, a resident of Mir Sahib Mohalla, Baramulla. “I voted in the last parliamentary election, and this time I voted too. My vote is for empowerment.”
At two polling stations housed in the school, Mir Sahib and Jalal Sahib, 114 votes out of 1,399 had been cast within the first two hours. The polling booths were located just 300 meters from the Eidgah congregational ground, which houses a "martyrs' graveyard" with gravestones of militants and civilians who died over the past three decades.
Baramulla assembly recorded a voter turnout of 47.95 %, less compared to Lok Sabha polls when the percentage was 52.15. However, the polling percentage in Baramulla is much higher compared to 2014 Assembly election when the figure was 39.73 %.
In Sopore, another former separatist bastion and the hometown of the late separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, the turnout was also decent. By 1:45 pm, 1,073 votes out of 4,199 had been cast across five polling stations at Government Degree College Sopore. The town remained calm, with a strong security presence.
“This time, there is no fear. Through our vote, we hope to reclaim our powers and identity,” said Tariq Ahmed outside a polling station in Sopore.
Sopore assembly recorded a voter turnout of 41.44 % less from Lok Sabha polls when the percentage was 44.46. However, the polling percentage in Baramulla is much higher compared to 2014 Assembly election when the figure was 30.79 %.
The participation in polls has picked up this year in both parliament and assembly elections. The participation was decent across the rural constituencies of north Kashmir, but there are still many who believe elections are an exercise in futility.
Suhail Ahmed from Langate- the home constituency of Baramulla Member of Parliament Abdul Rashid Sheikh, expressed his doubts.
“Voting hasn’t helped Kashmir in the past, even when we had our own governments. I don’t see any reason to vote,” he said.
Minor clashes between groups were reported in some areas of Bandipora district throughout the day.
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