The third and final phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections began on Tuesday at 7 AM, with voters lining up across 40 constituencies in seven districts. The voting will conclude at 6 PM.
As of 9:00 AM, Bandipora district reported low voter turnout. In the Sonawari constituency (14), 15,150 votes were cast, resulting in a turnout of 12.49%.
The Bandipora constituency (15) had a turnout of 10.45% with 12,159 votes cast. The Gurez constituency (16) saw a slightly higher turnout of 13.18%, with 2,939 votes. Overall, Bandipora’s cumulative voter turnout stands at 11.64%.
As of 9:00 AM, the overall voter turnout in the region was recorded at 11.60%. District-wise turnout included Bandipora at 11.64%, Baramulla at 8.89%, Jammu at 11.46%, Kathua at 13.09%, Kupwara at 11.27%, Samba at 13.31%, and Udhampur at 14.23%.
Around 415 candidates are contesting in this phase, with notable participants including Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party, who urged voters to participate.
This election is significant as it is the first in a decade and follows the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019.
The first two phases of polling recorded turnouts of 61% and 57.31%, respectively, while counting of the votes will take place on October 8.