Srinagar: Big slap for separatists as voter turnout 100% in valley

In a tight slap to the separatist elements and the Anti-India forces, the maiden Block Development Council elections held in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded a massive 98.3 per cent voters turnout. This has set a precedent that the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir have chosen progress and structured governance over terrorism and separatist mindsets. "98.3 percent polling was recorded in J&K", Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Shailendra Kumar said.

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Past vs present voter turnout 

Jammu and Kashmir has taken part in 12 general elections. In the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections in April 2019, Srinagar had recorded a dismal voter turnout of 13 per cent when the valley had gone to polls under a heavy blanket of security cover while Udhampur had recorded a voter turnout of 66.76 per cent. Contrary to the earlier figures, the 98.3 per cent voter turnout of Thursday's BDC polls is said to be a massive improvement.

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No untoward incidents

Jammu district electoral officer Sushma Chauhan said that there were no reports untoward incident reported from anywhere in Jammu. Tight security has been put in place at all the polling stations and candidates to ensure peaceful polling. Due care has been taken about the security of panchs and sarpanches who are going to vote for the BDC polls, the officials said. 

The highest number of 101 candidates filed nominations from Kupwara district, followed by nearby Baramulla (90), Jammu (82), Rajouri (76), Doda (74), Kathua (72) Udhampur and Budgam (58), Anantnag (55), Kishtwar (44), Ramban (43) and Reasi (39). While Leh and Kargil districts together accounted for 36 and 38 candidates, respectively, Shopian district in south Kashmir had the lowest number of only four candidates.

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NC and PDP boycott elections

The elections were boycotted by regional parties such as the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Jammu and Kashmir Electoral Officer, Shailendra Kumar held a press conference in the evening where he said that as per the data received by the authorities, the total voter turnout was 98.3%, with Srinagar witnessing the highest turnout of 100% and Pulwama and Shopian being the lowest at 86% and 85%. He also added that the security deployment was the same as that of the Lok Sabha election, and no additional security was deployed.

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