First major election in J&K’s Srinagar since the abrogation of Article 370

New Delhi: Voting for Phase 4 of the Lok Sabha elections, covering 96 Constituencies across 10 States / Union Territories, commenced at 7 am today. At 11 am, 24.9 percent voter turnout was recorded across these States.

According to the Election Commission of India, a total of 4,264 nominations were filed for the 96 Parliamentary Constituencies, resulting in 1,717 final candidates contesting the elections. Telangana witnessed the highest number of nominations at 1,488, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 1,103 nominations spread across 25 Constituencies.

The States and Union Territories involved include Andhra Pradesh (all 25 Constituencies), Telangana (all 17 Constituencies), Jharkhand (four out of 14 Constituencies), Odisha (four out of 21), Uttar Pradesh (13 out of 80), Madhya Pradesh (8 out of 29), Bihar (5 out of 40), Maharashtra (11 out of 48), West Bengal (8 out of 42) and Jammu and Kashmir (1 out of the Union Territory’s five Constituencies).

Over 17.70 crore voters, including 8.97 crore men and 8.73 crore women electors, are eligible to cast votes in Phase 4. “There are over 12.49 lakh registered 85 plus years old and 19.99 lakh PwD voters for phase 4, who have been provided the option to vote from the comfort of their homes,” the Election Commission said.

Voting is currently underway in J&K’s Srinagar, marking the first major election in the region since the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. In Srinagar, a total of 24 candidates  are contesting.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, polling was conducted for six seats in Jammu and Kashmir. Following the abrogation of Article 370, the former state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Consequently, there is no longer a separate Lok Sabha constituency for Ladakh.

The voter turnout in the first three phases of the election, conducted on April 19, April 26, and May 7, respectively, stood at 66.1 percent 66.7 percent, and 61 percent, respectively. Overall, the voter turnout has been lower compared to the 2019 elections.