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The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday issued a revised voter turnout for second phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to an ECI statement, the overall voter turnout for 26 Assembly constituencies, which went to polls on September 25 stood at 57.31 per cent.
The newly carved out Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Assembly constituency in Jammu division recorded the highest voting percentage of 80.45 per cent while the Habakadal Assembly segment of the Vally witnessed the lowest voter turnout of 19.81 per cent, followed by Khanyar at 26.09 per cent.
A low voter turnout in Srinagar
Eight Assembly constituencies spanning across district Srinagar witnessed a low voter turnout. According to revised official figures, the summer capital segments saw a low voter turnout of 29.91. In 2002, it recorded a voter turnout of just 11 per cent with Habbakadal witnessing a mere 0.80 percent.
This time despite a slight increase from the 2014 polls, where the voter turnout stood at 27.77 per cent, the low voting percentage blindsided both candidates and political observers, who were expecting a higher voting percentage.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday blamed the Centre government for low voter turnout as it likened the voter participation with normalcy.
“I believe the central government is at fault for equating high voter turnout with normalcy and linking it to the removal of Article 370”, Omar told reporters.
Prominent political analyst Prof. Noor Ahmad Baba told businessline that political class had been expecting a higher voter turnout this time
“It is a sort of surprise for us too”, he said.
According to Baba, the boycott mindset has persisted in this election as well.
He, however, said that urban areas usually witness lower voting percentage, compared to rural areas, which is a plausible argument.
Pertinently, the rural Assembly constituencies like Kangan recorded a voter turnout of 72.18 per cent while Chadoora saw a poll percentage of 57.19 per cent.
“Participation of Jamaat-e-Islamia in electoral process failed to encourage the electorate to cast their votes”, added Baba.
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