Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections Conclude with 69.65% Turnout: A Decade’s Wait Ends

Srinagar, 2nd October 2024: The third and final phase of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir wrapped up with a recorded turnout of 69.65% across 40 contested seats on Tuesday, marking a peaceful conclusion to the first Assembly elections in the region in a decade. The Election Commission of India reported no significant incidents during any of the three phases of polling.

The initial two phases saw turnouts of 61.38% and 57.31%, respectively, resulting in an overall turnout of 62.78% based on provisional figures from the Election Commission as of Wednesday morning.

This election’s voter turnout notably exceeded that of the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, although it fell short of the turnout during the previous Assembly elections in 2014. The Lok Sabha elections recorded a turnout of 57.89%, while the 2014 Assembly elections saw a turnout of 65.84%.

On Tuesday, polling occurred in 40 constituencies, with 24 located in Jammu and 16 in the Kashmir region. North Kashmir’s 16 seats experienced a decline of over 5% in turnout compared to 2014, while the 24 Jammu segments saw a more significant drop of over 6% relative to the last Assembly elections.

Turnout for the first two phases also surpassed the figures from the Lok Sabha elections. Phase 1 saw seven districts with a turnout of 61.38%, compared to 60% in the Lok Sabha polls. Similarly, six districts in Phase 2 recorded a turnout of 57.31%, in contrast to 52.17% in the Lok Sabha elections.

Despite these figures, the overall turnout represented a decline of 15% compared to the 2014 Assembly elections, even though regions traditionally boycotting elections saw an increase in participation.

Sopore, which recorded the lowest turnout at 45.32%, showed an increase of nearly 15% from the 2014 Assembly elections and stood at 48% in the earlier Lok Sabha polls.

District-wise, Baramulla’s seven seats recorded a turnout of 61.03% (up from 57.71% in 2014), while Kupwara’s six seats had a turnout of 66.79% (down from 71.98% in 2014) and Bandipore’s three seats recorded 67.68% (down from 74.49% in 2014).

In Jammu, the 11 districts had a turnout of 71.4% (down from 75.15% in 2014). Udhampur’s four seats saw a turnout of 76.09% (slightly down from 76.68% in 2014), Samba’s three seats had 75.88% (down from 79.66%), and Kathua’s six seats recorded 73.34% (down from 77.11% in 2014).