Srinagar- As the second phase of voting for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections in 26 Assembly Constituencies concluded on Wednesday, the voter turnout across the Union Territory stood tentatively at 56 per cent, with Srinagar recording the lower voter participation with over 29 per cent only.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Jammu and Kashmir, P K Pole, while addressing the media said that voting across the 26 Assembly Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir recorded a tentative percentage of 56.
However, Srinagar district witnessed the lowest voter turnout participation with a tentative percentage of around 29.00 per cent. Eidgah Assembly Constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 36.93 per cent while Habbakadal constituency recorded the lowest voter turnout in the district at 18.39 per cent.
Some youth,who chose to opt out of voting, expressed their disappointment with the candidates and growing disillusionment with the electoral process in the Union territory.
For many like Abbas, a young man from downtown Srinagar, the decision to skip voting came from a feeling of indifference.
“The representatives hardly care for votes after elections. Plus, they have less power compared to the previous assembly before the abrogation of Article 370, I believe the reduced authority of MLAs has led many to doubt their ability to address daily concerns,” Abbas said.
“Elections in a Union Territory and a state are two different things,” he added, pointing to the perception that the current structure limits local influence.
Hussain Dar, a resident living in rented accommodation in Srinagar echoed these sentiments.
“I chose not to cast my vote, citing a lack of appealing candidates and I didn’t have the candidate of my choice, so I didn’t feel the need to vote,” Dar said.
“I feel the disconnection many feel from the current political discourse. there is not a prominent face in our constituency,” he added.
Tanveer Ahmad Lone, a research scholar in political science at Kashmir University cited voter Fatigue from Lok Sabha Elections as a reason for low turnout.
“This time around, people did not feel the same urge to hit the polling stations,” Lone said, suggesting that the excitement and hope seen in earlier elections had waned.
Observers also say the sense of disengagement, combined with the return of familiar political faces and the looming issue of unemployment, seemed to contribute heavily to the low voter turnout. Many citizens expressed frustration that their concerns remain unaddressed, fueling a sense of apathy toward the electoral process.
Pertinently in the last Lok Sabha election held in the month of May 2024, after the abrogation of Article 370, the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency which consists of districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Pulwama and Budgam and Shopian partly had recorded a record turnout of 38.49 percent. The corresponding percentage for the last Lok Sabha election in 2019 was 14.43 percent.
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