At 83%, Kathua’s Bani logs highest turnout

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 20

Three districts of Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri today recoded 76 per cent turnout, highest in the five-phase Assembly elections in J&K which concluded on Saturday. Amid tight security in 20 Assembly seats, polling remained peaceful with serpentine queues of voters witnessed outside the polling stations.

While highest turnout was recorded at Bani (83.20%), the lowest turnout was recorded at 60 per cent in Gandhi Nagar. Basohli recorded 78.50 per cent voting, Kathua 80.47 per cent, Billawar 77.60 per cent, Hiranagar (SC), 80.17 per cent, Nagrota 81 per cent, Jammu East 66.05 per cent, Jammu West 65 per cent, Bishnah 80.22 per cent, RS Pura (SC) 77.79 per cent, Suchetgarh 80 per cent, Marh 82.45 per cent, Raipur Domana (SC) 77.41 per cent, Akhnoor 82.97 per cent, Chhamb (SC) 82 per cent, Nowshera 81.70 per cent, Darhal 81 per cent, Rajouri 75 per cent and Kalakote 74 per cent. J&K Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Umang Narula said election was peaceful in the final phase despite some minor incidents at Nowshera and Billawar before the polling day.

“The credit for the huge turnout goes to the voters and effective arrangements made by different agencies involved. There was greater participation of people in this election,” Narula said at a press conference. The CEO said elaborate arrangements were made to facilitate voters to cast their ballot in a free and fair manner and polling percentage might increase after consolidation of figures. Overall percentage for the 2014 Assembly elections of all five phases has been recorded as 66, which is 5 per cent more than the 2008 Assembly elections, where the overall voter percentage stood at 61. “As many as 2,391 polling stations were set up, which included 278 hypersensitive near International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC). At least 213 candidates were in the fray for these 20 constituencies, which comprised 18.28 lakh electors,” Narula said.