National Desk, 1st October: The third phase of voting for the highly anticipated Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections commenced on Tuesday, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) reporting a voter turnout of 11.60% by 9 AM.
Udhampur district led the turnout with 14.23%, closely followed by Samba at 13.31%. Other districts also saw varying levels of participation: Bandipore recorded 11.64%, Jammu 11.46%, Kathua 13.09%, Kupwara 11.27%, and Baramulla reported the lowest at 8.89%. Voting began at 7 AM across 40 constituencies spread over seven districts and will continue until 6 PM, under tight security to ensure a peaceful process.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed optimism for a robust voter turnout, particularly among women and first-time voters. Taking to X, he encouraged all eligible voters to participate: “I am confident that apart from the young friends who are going to vote for the first time, women power will also participate in the voting in large numbers.”
This election is historic as it marks the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade, following the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019, which changed the region’s special status. A total of 415 candidates are contesting across *90 seats, with prominent figures like former Deputy Chief Ministers *Tara Chand (Congress) and Muzaffar Hussain Beig vying for positions. Major political parties, including the *National Conference (NC), **Congress, **People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and *Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are engaged in a multi-party contest, having formed alliances to secure electoral success.
The high voter turnout in the early hours is seen as a positive indication of engagement in the democratic process as the state moves forward in a post-Article 370 era.
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