Jammu: Over 71.91 percent of voting turnout was recorded in Jammu parliamentary constituency as the second phase of the seven-phase Indian elections closed on Friday.
According to the inputs, the Mata Vaishno Devi Assembly segment in Reasi district secured the highest turnout at over 79.91 percent, while the Bahu Assembly segment in Jammu district witnessed the lowest turnout at 62.34 percent.
A total of 22 candidates are contesting for this seat, with the primary competition between Bharatiya Janta Party’s (BJP) Jugal Kishore Sharma and Congress party’s Raman Bhalla.
The electorate eligible to vote in the Jammu parliamentary constituency amounts to over 17.80 lakh, including 921,095 male, 859,712 female, and 28 third gender voters.
According to data provided by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) J&K, various Assembly segments recorded significant voting percentages: Akhnoor (78.27 percent), Bahu (62.34 percent), Bishnah (76.54 percent), Chhamb (75.76 percent), Gulabgarh (71.47 percent), Jammu East (66.11 percent), Jammu North (67.29 percent), Jammu West (62.82 percent), Kalakote-Sunderbani (69.10 percent), Marh (79.31 percent), Nagrota (75.63 percent), R S Pura (68.11 percent), Ramgarh (75.27 percent), Reasi (74.19 percent), Samba (69.23 percent), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (79.43 percent), Suchetgarh (75.94 percent), and Vijaypur (75.67 percent).
Residents residing along the ‘International Border’ (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) cast their votes in the morning hours.
The Jammu Lok Sabha seat comprises 18 Assembly segments, including 11 from Jammu district, three from Samba district, three from Reasi district, and one from Rajouri district. These segments encompass areas like Bishnah, Suchetgarh, Ranbir Singh Pura (Jammu-south), Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Marh, Akhnoor, Chhamb, Ramgarh, Samba, Vijaypur, Gulabgarh, Reasi, and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi.
Ten Assembly segments in the Jammu constituency, including Ramgarh, Vijaypur, and Samba of Samba district, Bishnah, Suchetgarh, Ranbir Singh Pura, Marh, Akhnoor, and Chamb of Jammu, and Sunderbani-Kalakote Assembly of Rajouri district, have voters in border areas.
The ‘border’ belt comprises a diverse population including Gujjars, Jats, Scheduled Castes, West Pakistani Refugees, Chamb Refugees, and Sikhs, who primarily rely on farming and employment for their livelihoods.
(KNO Inputs)