Alluding to the revocation of Article 370, People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said that people, through their votes have expressed that the decision taken by the Centre in 2019 not acceptable to them.
Notably, Srinagar voter turnout of 38 per cent in the Lok Sabha polls on Monday was the highest in several decades.
“People feel suffocated after the 2019 decision. People have expressed it by voting and have told Delhi that the decision taken by you in 2019 is not at all acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Voting speed was reduced in Pulwama despite that, I am hopeful that our candidate will be successful. Many of our workers were arrested,” Mufti said.
Meanwhile, in the first general election in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, polling took place in 2,135 polling stations on Monday across the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency containing assembly segments of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Budgam and Shopian districts.
Srinagar voter turnout of 38 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is the highest in several decades. There are 24 candidates in the fray as compared to 12 in the 2019 general election.
The voter turnout in Srinagar was 14.43 per cent in 2019, 25.86 per cent in 2014, 25.55 per cent in 2009, 18.57 per cent in 2004, 11.93 per cent in 1999, 30.06 per cent in 1998, and 40.94 per cent in 1996.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the people of the Srinagar parliamentary constituency for the “encouraging turnout” of 38 per cent, which is more than double the 14.43 pc polling in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In 2019, polling for the Lok Sabha was held for six seats in Jammu and Kashmir. However, following the abrogation of Article 370, which resulted in the split of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, there is no longer a separate Lok Sabha constituency for Ladakh.
Voting for the Udhampur and Jammu seats was concluded on April 19 and 26 respectively while in Srinagar voting was done on May 13.
Baramulla seat will vote on May 20 while the Anantnag-Rajouri seat on May 25. (ANI)
