Jammu Lok Sabha seat records 71.91 % turnout in peaceful Phase-II polling

Jammu: The polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in Jammu Constituency ended on a high note with the overall voter turnout recorded as 71.91 percent.
People of Jammu, Samba and Reasi districts made sure that they come out in large numbers and cast their vote in favour of their candidate who they want to represent them in the Lok Sabha for the next five years.
Long queues were seen all across both men and women and even in posh colonies like Gandhinagar and Trikuta Nagar, people were seen standing in long queues to wait for their turn to vote.
They tried to brush aside the tag of sitting in air condition rooms and not voting during summer heat.
Jammu Lok Sabha seat comprises 18 Assembly segments including 11 Assembly segments of Jammu district including Bishnah, Suchetgarh, Ranbir Singh Pura (Jammu-south), Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Marh, Akhnoor and Chhamb, three Assembly segments of Samba district including Ramgarh, Samba and Vijaypur, three Assembly segments of Reasi district including Gulabgarh, Reasi and Shri Mata Vasihno Devi and one Assembly segment of Rajouri district Kalakote-Sunderbani.
There were over 17.80 lakh electorates eligible to vote in Jammu PC including 921,095 male, 859,712 female and 28 third gender voters.
The chief electoral office had established 2,416 polling stations and over 15000 polling staff were deputed to conduct the elections in a fair and transparent manner.
A total of 22 candidates are in the fray for this seat whereas the contest is mainly between Bharatiya Janta Party’s (BJP) Jugal Kishore Sharma and Congress party’s Raman Bhalla.
According to the data provided by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) J&K, Akhnoor recorded 78.27 percent votes, Bahhu 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, March 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 recorded 75.67 percent.
The voting process went underway in 2416 polling stations at 7 AM and culminated at 7 PM.
Across various assembly segments of the parliamentary constituency, voters, especially youth and first time voters, were seen standing in queues much ahead of the scheduled time for polling.
The Election Commission had put in place all necessary arrangements to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process.
Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir, Pandurang K. Pole closely monitored the voting process from the UT level Command and Control Center established at Nirvachan Bhawan, Jammu. Polling began at 7:00 am and continued until 6:00 pm or the conclusion of polling, whichever was later.
At each polling station, basic amenities such as water, electricity, toilets, ramps, and waiting rooms were provided to ensure smooth and successful elections. Wheelchairs and helpers were also available for voters in need. To promote inclusive voting, 10 polling booths were managed by women (referred to as pink polling stations), 10 by specially abled persons, and 9 by youths.
Furthermore, 12 green polling stations were established to raise awareness about environmental concerns.
Chief Electoral Officer congratulated all the first time voters and expressed gratitude towards all the voters for their enthusiastic participation in the polling for the second phase of General Elections.
He also complimented the polling personnel engaged in the election process for successful conduct of the second phase of elections in Jammu and Kashmir.