In an ongoing second phase of the J&K Assembly election, the union territory witnessed a voter turnout of 46.12% till 3 pm on Wednesday. Reports Election Commission of India.
Reasi recorded the highest turnout at 63.91%, followed by Poonch with 61.45%, Rajouri at 58.95%, Ganderbal also at 61.45%, Budgam with 49.44%, and Srinagar at 22.62%.
Earlier in the day, Polling for this phase commenced at 7 in the morning, with over 25 lakh eligible voters set to choose from 239 candidates across 26 constituencies. A total of 2,578,099 voters are eligible to participate, including 1,312,730 males, 1,265,316 females, and 53 voters from the third gender.
In the meantime, Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP-led central government during a public rally in Jammu, stating that statehood was revoked in Jammu and Kashmir to enable governance by outsiders.
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Additionally, he pointed out that, historically, several union territories have been granted statehood, but this was the first instance of a state being downgraded to a union territory.
Moreover, he also criticized Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, suggesting that the current administration benefits outsiders at the expense of local residents.
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Meanwhile, the final phase of polling is scheduled for October 1, with vote counting set for October 8.
(With Inputs From ANI)
