2024 Lok Sabha Elections Phase 5: Record 59% voting in J&K's Baramulla constituency

Trehgam: Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency on Monday saw its highest polling ever at about 59%, said Jammu and Kashmir chief electoral officer PK Pole.

In this northern Kashmir constituency, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah faced Sajad Lone of the People's Conference and Abdul Rashid Sheikh, alias Engineer Rashid, of Awami Ittehad Party, who contested the election while being in jail, with the People's Democratic Party candidate expected to be a distant fourth among the 22 candidates in the fray.

The constituency, spread over 18 assembly seats across four districts of Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora and Budgam, has about 1.74 million voters who voted in 2103 polling stations. Hundreds of people - even in their 30s, 40s and 50s - voted for the first time.


While this constituency has always recorded higher polling percentage than the other two constituencies in Kashmir, experts attributed the record turnout to the high-voltage campaign revolving around the abrogation of Article 370 and "dignity and identity of people of J&K" by National Conference and People's Conference, and the late entry of Abrar Rashid, son of Engineer Rashid. Engineer Rashid has been behind bars since 2019, when NIA arrested him in a money laundering case related to alleged terror funding.

Baramulla recorded 34.6% polling in 2019 and a mere 5.48% in 1989.

"We are voting to get Engineer Rashid released from jail. He is suffering because he espoused the cause and talked about the issues of Kashmiri Muslims," said Tahira Akhtar, 40, a resident of Batergam of Kupwara.

In Ladakh, turnout till 5 pm was 68.47%. Here, BJP candidate Tashi Gyalson faced INDIA bloc candidate from Congress, Tsering Namgyal. Mohammad Haneefa Jan, an NC rebel, contested as an Independent candidate.