Overall, the people’s participation in J&K Phase I poll, at slightly over 61.1%, was better than the 60% polling witnessed in 2014 assembly poll and way higher than the corresponding 50.3% turnout in the same districts in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.The polling was higher in all four Valley’s districts as compared to 2024 LS but slightly lower only in Anantnag when compared to 2014 assembly polls. As regards the three districts of Jammu region that voted — Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban — the polling was higher for all as compared to LS polls but a tad lower in respect of Doda and Ramban ACs, when compared to 2014 assembly polls.
The turnout figures for Wednesday’s polling are still provisional. Also, an assembly constituency (AC) wise comparison between 2014 and current assembly elections would not be accurate as the constituencies were redrawn in 2022 as part of the delimitation exercise.
Commenting on the improved turnout, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar told TOI that the people of Jammy & Kashmir have proven right the Urdu couplet recited by him while announcing J&K polls on August 16, which, translated into English, means that “in the celebration of democracy, your (J&K people’s) participation will show the world the story of defeat of mala fide intentions (napaak iraadon ki shikast)”.
A comparison of AC-wise turnouts between 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the current election shows that Kulgam AC, where six terrorists were killed in two separate encounters in July, recorded the highest surge of 28.5 percent age points (34.2% to 62.7%). In once terrorist-infested Anantnag, there was a jump of over 14 percentage points in turnout across both Dooru AC and Srigufwara-Bijbehara AC, 12.1 percentage points in Anantnag AC and 11.8 percentage points each in Anantnag West AC and Shangus-Anantnag East AC.
Pulwama AC and Pampore AC in Pulwama district, where a terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Feb 2019 had killed 40 personnel, witnessed an improvement of 6-7 percentage points in turnout as compared to 2024 Lok Sabha polls, even as Tral AC saw a rise of 3 percentage points. Pahalgam AC showed the district’s highest jump at 13.6 percentage points.
In terror-hit Shopian, Shopian AC and Zainapora AC saw a turnout increase of 14.4 and 13.2 percentage points respectively over the LS polls.
In the Jammu region, Doda AC, Doda West AC and Bhadarwah AC in Doda district, where five soldiers were killed by terrorists in two separate incidents in July, respectively witnessed a 4.3, 6.6 and 4.2 percentage points increase in polling over LS elections. Banihal AC and Ramban AC in Ramban district recorded a surge of 12.3 and 2.9 percentage points respectively. In Kishtwar, Kishtwar AC and Inderwal AC clocked an over 13 percentage point rise each in polling as compared to Lok Sabha elections.