On Monday, after a record voter turnout of 38.49% in Srinagar PC in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Baramulla Parliament Constituency now seems headed for the highest turnout in the last 8 Lok Sabha elections. Voter turnout of 54.21 % was recorded as of 5 PM in the districts of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and Budgam.
CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar along with fellow Election Commissioners Shri Gyanesh Kumar and Shri Sukhbir Singh Sandhu while appreciating the efforts of both civil and security personnel in the smooth and peaceful conduct of elections and thanking enthusiastic participation by the voters of J&K said that a clear message has been given that people of Jammu and Kashmir are eager to exercise franchise and have their stakes in the democratic system of governance. Polling took place in 2103 polling stations across the Baramulla Parliamentary constituency with live webcasting at the polling stations. Voting started at 7 a.m. across the PC with long queues of enthusiastic voters waiting to cast their votes. There are 22 candidates in the fray in the Baramulla PC in the ongoing GE 2024. Polling personnel including security personnel worked tirelessly to ensure that an atmosphere of calm, peace and festivities welcomed voters at the polling stations. The Commission has enabled Kashmiri migrant voters residing at various relief camps in Delhi, Jammu, and Udhampur to also have the option of voting in person at designated special polling stations or using postal ballot. 21 Special Polling Stations were established at Jammu, 1 at Udhampur and 4 at Delhi. Earlier, in the fourth phase, Srinagar PC covering districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Budgam & Shopian Districts partly recorded voter turnout of 38.49%, highest in many decades. This was the first general election in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 and the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
