A voter turnout of 11.60 per cent was recorded in the first two hours of polling for the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections of Tuesday, according to Election Commission (EC) data.
Polling in 40 assembly segments across seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir began at 7 am amid tight security. Long queues were seen outside polling stations.
More than 39.18 lakh eligible voters are set to decide the fate of 415 candidates, including two former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Baig. Polling is underway in three border districts of north Kashmir --? Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara.
The assembly segments where polling is being held are Baramulla, Uri, Rafiabad, Pattan, Gulmarg, Sopore and Wagoora-Kreeri in Baramulla district; Kupwara, Karnah, Trehgam, Handwara, Lolab and Langate in Kupwara district; and Bandipora, Sonawari and Gurez in Bandipora district. A total of 202 candidates are in the fray in these 16 segments. Voting is also being held in 24 assembly constituencies in Udhampur, Samba and Kathua districts in the Jammu region.
A voter turnout of 11.60 per cent was recorded till 9 am in the final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir polls, the EC said. Udhampur district recorded the highest turnout of 14.23 per cent, followed by 13.31 per cent in Samba, 13.09 per cent in Kathua, 11.64 per cent in Bandipora, 11.46 per cent in Jammu, 11.27 per cent in Kupwara and 8.89 per cent in Baramulla. Among the constituencies, Ramnagar was leading with 15.27 per cent polling recorded in the first two hours. Sopore segment, once a terrorist and separatist stronghold, recorded the lowest turnout of 6.71 per cent, the EC data showed.
Having gained voting rights for the first time following the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, enthusiastic West Pakistani refugees, Valmiki Samaj and Gorkha community members thronged polling stations in the early hours.