Jammu, 19-04-2024: Election day was calm, with 68.27 percent of voters casting ballots in the Udhampur-Doda seat. 11.07 lakh votes were cast. As far as voting % goes, Banihal is last and the Kathua-SC sector is first. The Kathua (SC) Assembly sector achieved the highest polling percentage of 75.44 percent, while Banihal accounted for the lowest percentage of 58.78. Today, the Udhampur-Doda Parliamentary constituency reported 68.27 percent turnout, with 11,07,821 electorates exercising their right to vote out of a total of 16,23,195. The first-round election contest following the repeal of Article 370 in 2019 was conducted without any incidents. Only DDC and BDC elections were held post-August 2019 decisions of the Central Government.
In the 2019 elections, Udhampur seat recorded 70.02 percent polling. However, throughout the day today, the constituency faced adverse weather conditions with rains and winds. As per the official figures, Kathua (SC) segment recorded a polling percentage of 75.44, Jasrota 73.68, Udhampur West 73.28, Udhampur East 73.26, Hiranagar 72.65, Padder Nagseni 70.06, Chenani 69.47, Doda West 69.36, Inderwal 68.99, Doda 68.14, Ramban 66.71, Ramnagar (SC) 66.61, Billawar 66.28, Kishtwar 65.44, Basohli 64.91, Bhaderwah 63.01, Bani 62.70 and Banihal 58.78.
District wise Udhampur registered a 70.76 percent turnout followed by Kathua with 70.06 percent, Kishtwar 67.75 percent, Doda 66.42 percent and Ramban 62.42 percent. An official statement tonight said due to weather conditions, latest updates were awaited from some of the Polling Stations, especially in remote areas of Kishtwar, Gandoh, Ramban, and Dudu-Basantgarh. The polling percentage is likely to increase slightly.
“Your vote is your voice and it plays a pivotal role in determining the direction of governance and development in the region,” CEO J&K PK Pole said after the successful conclusion of Phase-I polling.
Fate of 12 candidates including Union Minister and BJP candidate Dr Jitendra Singh, Choudhary Lal Singh (Congress), former MP, Ghulam Mohammad Saroori (DPAP), former Minister and Amit Kumar Bhagat (BSP) was sealed in the EVMs which will be opened now on June 4. Dr Jitendra Singh is seeking a third consecutive term from the constituency. Officials, both in the civil and police administration, told the Excelsior that polling in all five districts including Kathua, Udhampur, Ramban, Kishtwar, and Doda, which formed part of the Udhampur-Doda Parliamentary constituency, remained peaceful. “No untoward incident was reported from any part of Lok Sabha seat,” they said. Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Jammu Kashmir Police (JKP) had been deployed in large strength in the Parliamentary constituency to ensure peaceful polling. Once infested by militancy, Doda, Ramban, and Kishtwar districts also recorded entirely peaceful voting at all places. There was no fear of militants among the voters even in the remotest areas of the erstwhile Doda district as militancy has by and large ended with very few militants and Over Ground Workers (OGWs) now surviving. Moreover, the paramilitary forces and police had been deployed in adequate numbers at all the Polling Stations well ahead of the voting day to boost the morale of the people.
Voting began on a brisk note at 7 am at almost all 2,637 polling stations across the constituency notwithstanding the adverse weather conditions in most of the areas including plains as well as upper reaches. However, people braved rains and queue up to cast their votes. At some of the Polling Stations, tents had been erected to save people from rain. As the rains subsided, the queues increased during the day to cast their votes.
Despite severe rain in certain locations, roads, particularly the interior ones in the districts of Doda, Ramban, and Kishtwar, remained open, and people were visible hiking to the polling places. People in certain locations waited for the rain to stop, but when it didn’t, they braved the storm to get to the polling places and lined up before 5 PM to cast their ballots. After the former State was divided into two Union territories in 2019 and Article 370 was revoked, this is the first significant election contest in Jammu and Kashmir. A few minor issues at a few polling places were fixed right away. More than 11,000 polling staff, including reserves, had been deployed while security arrangements were foolproof to ensure free and fair elections.
The constituency encompassed an expansive area of 16,707 square kilometers. It consists of 18 Assembly segments spanning five districts — Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Udhampur and Kathua. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh visited a Polling Station in Kathua to oversee the polling process. He expressed confidence in retaining the seat with a huge margin. Lal Singh and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori were among those who cast their votes at their respective Polling Stations in Kathua and Kishtwar and expressed confidence in winning the seat.
Returning Officer of the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency Rakesh Minhas, Deputy Commissioner Kathua, also exercised his franchise after standing in a queue and waiting for his turn at a polling station in Kathua district. Minhas, who originally hails from Punjab, came to a polling station set up at the Irrigation Department in Kathua town and exercised his franchise after waiting in a queue for his turn. Minhas and his wife Saloni Rai, both 2016 batch IAS officers, were deputed to Jammu and Kashmir from Daman and Diu in August 2022, and they were later posted as Deputy Commissioners of Kathua and Udhampur districts. “We should not be careless about our democratic rights. Even if there is a queue, it takes only 15 to 20 minutes to cast your vote,” Minhas told reporters.
According to the officials, a total of 1,472 Polling Stations out of 2,637 had been equipped with webcasting facilities in the constituency having a diverse electorate comprising 16,23,195 voters. 84,468 people, ages 18 to 19, were eligible to vote for the first time. Of them, 45,825 were men, 38,641 were women, and two were third genders. The constituency boasted a sizeable senior citizen population as well: 12,020 men and 13,612 women who were 80 years of age or over, making a total of 25,632 seasoned voters who participated in the election.