Anantnag, May 25 (UNI) Polling began on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency where 20 candidates, including former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti are in the fray, officials said.
The voting in 2,338 polling stations across the Anantnag- Rajouri Parliamentary Constituency began at 7 am and will close at 6 pm.
Officials said voters were seen standing in queues at many polling stations across the south Kashmir districts of the constituencies.
In Kulgam district, the voters including youths were seen in long queues enthusiastically waiting to exercise their vote.
There are 18.36 lakh voters enrolled in the five districts of Kulgam, Anantnag, Shopian, Poonch and Rajouri.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections is the first major polls in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
The trans Pir Panchal constituency will witness a triangular contest between Peoples Democratic Party’s president Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference’s influential Gujjar leader Mian Altaf and Apni Party’s Zaffar Manhas.
The Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency comprises 18 assembly segments, spanning across the Kashmir and Jammu regions. The constituency is divided into 11 segments in Shopian, Kulgam, and Anantnag districts of South Kashmir, and 7 segments in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu, bridging the Pir Panjal range.
Before 2019 South Kashmir formed a single parliamentary constituency, while Rajouri and Poonch districts were part of the Jammu Lok Sabha seat. However, following delimitation, the Anantnag-Rajouri seat was created, combining seven assembly segments from Jammu division and 11 from Kashmir division.
The Srinagar and Baramulla Lok Sabha seats that went to polls on May 13 and May 20 witnessed record-breaking polling. Srinagar Lok Sabha seat recorded a voter turnout of 38 per cent, the highest since 1996. Baramulla LS seat recorded 59 per cent voter turnout, the highest since 1984 when 61 per cent was recorded.
