Third phase of J&K assembly election records more than 65 % polling
The highest among the three phases, 65.48 per cent polling was recorded till 5 pm in the 40 assembly constituencies across Jammu and Kashmir where voting was held on Tuesday in the third and the final phase of election.
The assembly election in J&K held after a gap of ten years witnessed polling in three phases.
The first phase recorded 57.31 per cent polling, while 61.38 per cent votes were cast in the second phase.
This phase of polling is considered crucial for government formation as voting was held for the highest number of 40 seats in 7 districts. Earlier in the first and second phases 24 and 26 seats respectively went to polls of the UT.
The electoral exercise witnessed the Balmiki community and West Pakistan refugees voting in J&K’s assembly election for the first time in 77 years. These segments of the society were empowered to vote after the J&K Reorganisation Act came into force following abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August 2019.
Polling booths in the areas where these two communities reside witnessed heavy polling since early morning.
Turnout of voters was high also in the assembly constituencies along the International Border with Pakistan and the Line of Control (LoC). However, polling in the Jammu city remained slow till noon.
Jammu’s Chhamb assembly constituency along the Pakistan border recorded the highest polling percentage of 77.35 per cent.
While polling in most of the 24 seats of the Jammu division crossed 70 per cent, it went beyond 60 per cent in many of the 16 seats of the Kashmir valley.