NEW DELHI, 27 May: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday said that Jammu & Kashmir recorded the highest voter turnout in a Lok Sabha poll in the last 35 years, with the Kashmir valley witnessing a “massive” 30 points jump in poll participation compared to 2019.
“This active participation is a huge positive for the Assembly elections to be held soon, so that the democratic process continues to thrive in the union territory (UT),” said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, responding to the turnout.
The poll panel said also that the combined voter turnout at the polling stations for the entire UT with five Lok Sabha seats was 58.46 percent.
On Saturday, CEC Kumar had told PTI Video that,encouraged by the voter turnout in Jammu & Kashmir in the Lok Sabha polls, the ECI will “very soon” initiate the process of holding the assembly polls in the UT.
The three seats in the Valley – Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri – recorded turnout of 38.49 percent, 59.1 percent and 54.84 percent, respectively, the highest in the last three decades.
The other two seats in the UT – Udhampur and Jammu – recorded 68.27 percent and 72.22 percent voter turnout, respectively, it said.
The ECI said that more young people have asserted their faith and embraced democracy in a big way.
Another interesting perspective is the electors in the age group of 18-59 years which forms the major part of electors in the UT, it underlined.
The high poll percentage in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is reflective of their faith in democracy, which is a positive and heartening development, it stressed.
According to the ECI, the 18-59 years age group constitutes over 80 percent of the electorate in each of the five Lok Sabha seats of the union territory. (PTI)
