Highest voter turnout since 1996
Suhail Khan
SRINAGAR, May 20: The voting for the fifth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections concluded in 49 constituencies across India, including the Baramulla seat in Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday (May 20). The Baramulla Parliamentary Constituency witnessed a record-breaking 59.49 percent voter turnout.
Around 17,37,865 electors were eligible to cast their ballots in 2,103 polling stations established across the Baramulla Parliamentary Constituency during the 5th phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on Monday.
The Baramulla Lok Sabha segment elections saw 22 candidates contesting, including prominent figures such as National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone, Mir Fayaz Ahmed of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Er. Rashid of the Awami Ittihad Party, among others.
Chief Electoral Officer Pandurang Kondbarao Pole, in a press conference, said that the Baramulla Parliamentary constituency recorded approximately 59 percent voter turnout, marking the highest polling percentage in the democratic history of the constituency.
Pole provided a historical comparison of polling percentages for the Baramulla Parliamentary constituency: 2019: 34.57%, 2014: 39.13%, 2009: 41.84%, 2004: 35.65%, 1999: 27.79%, 1998: 41.94%, and 1996: 46.65%.
Talking about Sopore, the chief election officer said that in the previous elections, Sopore had recorded a voter turnout of around 1%, while this time it recorded a turnout of 44.36%.
In the last phase, Srinagar recorded the highest voter turnout of 38.49 percent since 1996. Nonetheless, Baramulla constituency not only breached the 1996 record of 46.65 percent but also registered the best voter turnout in the last 40 years of parliamentary elections history in the constituency.
As per official data, the total 17,37,865 lakh voters enrolled in the phase V included 8,75,831 male and 8,62,000 female voters, besides 34 third gender electorates. There were around 17,128 Persons with Disability and 527 persons above the age of 100 years who will be exercising their franchise.
There were 18 polling booths managed by women (also called as pink polling stations), 17 polling booths manned by specially abled persons, and 18 by youths. Also, there were 21 green polling stations to spread messages about environmental concerns.
