Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed the remarkable voter turnout in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir, which witnessed the highest polling percentage in the region in over three decades.
Taking to X, the Prime Minister congratulated the people of the constituency for their “enthusiastic participation” and called it a “vibrant testament to their democratic spirit.”
“A very special congratulations to my sisters and brothers of Anantnag-Rajouri for the record turnout in the Lok Sabha polls. Their enthusiastic participation is a vibrant testament to their democratic spirit,” PM Modi wrote.
As per the final figures released by the Election Commission, the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency recorded an impressive 54.3% voter turnout in this year’s parliamentary elections held on May 23rd. This marks a stark increase from the dismal 14.3% turnout witnessed in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The high voter participation in Anantnag-Rajouri is part of a broader trend of resurgence in electoral engagement across the Kashmir Valley this year. The other two parliamentary constituencies in the region – Srinagar and Baramulla – also registered their highest turnouts in decades at 38.49% and 59.1% respectively.
Overall, the cumulative voter turnout in the three Kashmir Valley constituencies stood at an impressive 50.63% in the 2024 elections, a remarkable jump from the mere 19.16% recorded in 2019.
Lauding the strong democratic spirit displayed by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said, “People have reposed faith in democracy and proved naysayers wrong.”
The polling process in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency involved stringent security measures with 2,338 polling stations being set up and live webcasting facilities to ensure free and fair elections. A total of 20 candidates, including two women, contested for the prestigious Lok Sabha seat.
The Election Commission had also made special arrangements for Kashmiri migrant voters, allowing them to exercise their franchise either through postal ballots or at designated special polling stations established in Delhi, Jammu, and Udhampur.
(Inputs from ANI)
