The Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir, P.K. Pole, confirmed on Wednesday that polling in the first phase of the Assembly elections was progressing smoothly, with no incidents of violence reported from any polling stations.
Pole expressed optimism about a high voter turnout, attributing it to the enthusiasm of the electorate.
"Polling is being conducted on a large scale. The way polling is progressing indicates a high turnout. We anticipate over 60% polling. So far, the polling has been peaceful and incident-free," he stated.
While en route to observe polling stations established for Kashmiri migrants in Jammu’s Muthi area, he added that voting was ongoing across all 24 Assembly constituencies at 3,266 polling stations.
“We have set up 19 polling stations for Kashmiri migrants to vote for 16 Assembly segments of Kashmir,” he said, noting that about 20% of Kashmiri migrants in Jammu had already cast their votes.
This marks the first Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the loss of statehood in 2019.
The total electorate for Phase 1 comprises 23,27,580 voters, including 11,76,462 men, 11,51,058 women, and 60 third-gender voters.
The CEO also highlighted the participation of 1.23 lakh youth voters aged 18-19, along with 28,309 specially-abled individuals and 15,774 senior citizens above 85 years of age.
Strict security measures have been implemented by J&K Police for this phase.
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