Jammu and Kashmir reported a voter turnout of 71 per cent in the second phase of elections which saw 18 Assembly constituencies going to the polls on Tuesday, while Jharkhand reported a voter turnout of 65.96 per cent for 20 Assembly constituencies, the Election Commission said.

The final figure of voter turnout in J&K would be higher by 1 or 2 per cent as people were still waiting to cast their vote, Vinod Zutshi, Director, Election Commission, told newspersons at a late evening media briefing.

“Unlike in the first phase where we had to use helicopters, this time they were not needed as there was no snowfall. The elections during the second phase were peaceful,” he added.

Udhampur district reported a 76 per cent voter turnout on Tuesday, a jump of over 12 per cent over the 63.77 per cent voter turnout reported during the 2008 Assembly elections, EC officials said. Reasi district reported a turnout of 80 per cent (75.10 per cent) while Poonch district reported 75 per cent, the same as in 2008.

Commenting on the polling in Jharkhand, Umesh Sinha, Deputy Election Commissioner, said West Singhbhum district reported a voter turnout of 69.89 per cent while Ranchi district reported 64.99 per cent.

The combined voter turnout for the two phases in the State stood at 64.23 per cent, he added.

While over 15.42 lakh people were eligible to cast their votes during the second phase of polling in J&K, the size of the electorate eligible to vote in Jharkhand on Tuesday was over 44 lakh, officials said.

Boycott of polls

Residents of Khudwani village, which falls in the Kulgam region, participated in a boycott of the ongoing elections in the State. Other regions of the State did not report signs of protests or violence. After a slow start, polling has picked up pace in the State.

Both J&K and Jharkhand will have polling spread over five phases with the last phase of voting scheduled for December 20. The votes will be counted on December 23.

First phase

In the first phase of polling held on November 25, voter turnout in J&K was over 70%, while Jharkhand witnessed over 62% voting.

In J&K, 275 candidates are seeking mandate from the 1.54-million-strong electorate in the second phase of polling.

In Jharkhand, 4.43 million voters will decide the fate of 223 candidates.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress coalition is in power in Jharkhand, while Congress-supported National Conference is at the helm in J&K. The Jharkhand Assembly’s term expires on January 3, while that of J&K ends on January 19.

The term of the J&K Asembly is six years under Article 52 of the State’s Constitution.

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