The Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency recorded a 53 per cent turnout on Saturday, the highest in 35 years. In 1996, the constituency recorded a turnout of 50 per cent.
With the completion of the election in Anantnag-Rajouri, where NC’s Mian Altaf and PDP’s Mehbooba are the main contenders, the election on five Lok Sabha seats- Udhanpur, Jammu, Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri- in Jammu and Kashmir has been completed with a combined turnout of 58 per cent exceeding the 49.58 per cent recorded in 2014 and 47.99 per cent in 1996.
Addressing a press conference, CEO Pole expressed gratitude to the voters, polling staff, security personnel and candidates for their roles in achieving the record turnout.
"The credit goes to the voters for making the new records," he said. “It’s the collective effort that made the electoral process a success.”
The 53 per cent turnout in Anantnag-Rajouri is a significant increase from the 9 per cent seen in 2019.
The highest turnout in the constituency was witnessed in the Surankote area of Poonch at 68 per cent. Kulgam and Anantnag saw lower participation with 32 per cent and 33 per cent respectively. Migrant polling booths recorded over 50 per cent turnout, including 9,000 postal ballots.
Around 9,000 polling staff were deployed in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency to facilitate the voting.
Voting began at 7 a.m. on Saturday in the newly delimited Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat, amid stringent security measures. The Election Commission implemented robust arrangements, including satellite phones and special equipment at polling stations with poor mobile signals, to counter threats and contingencies, especially potential cross-border shelling in border regions.
The four other constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, including Baramulla, recorded 59.10 per cent, Srinagar at 39 per cent, Udhampur at 68 per cent and Jammu at 72.22 per cent.
However, significant security challenges occurred in some villages in Jammu and Kashmir due to the recent terrorist incidents in the Rajouri-Poonch area. The election officials assured that comprehensive measures had been taken to ensure free, fair, and peaceful voting. The constituency spanned 18 assembly segments, with the Election Commission establishing 2,338 polling stations to accommodate over 18.36 lakh voters.
Out of 542 polling stations in Rajouri district, 278 were categorised as sensitive. Additionally, 45 polling stations were within the direct firing range from across the Line of Control (LoC). In Poonch district, 55 out of 171 polling stations are located along the LoC. To safeguard voters in critical areas, the district administration devised contingency plans. The Rajouri DC confirmed that five villages, where the security challenges occurred, lie between the LoC and the fencing.
