Voter turnout in J-K, Jharkhand showing upward trend: EC

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday stated that the third phase of the ongoing assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand continued to show the upwards trajectory seen in the first two phases of the polls, adding that no untoward incident took place during the democratic process.

"The third phase of the polls in the states was conducted peacefully. There have been no reports of untoward incidents. The voter turnout in today's phase has continued with the same upward trend which we all saw in the first and second phase," Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi told the media.

"The total percentage of all the constituencies in the third phase was 58 percent, as of 5.30 pm. This was around six percent more than the corresponding areas recorded in the previous assembly elections. In the Lok Sabha elections, the voter turnout for the same areas of the state was around 25 percent," he added.

Stating that the voter percentage might rise, Zutshi also gave details of the cash, liquor and narcotics ceased in during polling.

"The third phase saw Baramullah record 57 percent of voting, while Badgam and Pulwama stood at 70 and 43 percent respectively. The percentage points might go up slightly," he said.

"The overall cash ceased in the state in the whole process so far has been Rs 91.81 lakhs, while 254 litres of liquor and narcotics worth Rs 7 lakhs were also ceased," he added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha stated that all efforts were made to ensure free and fair polls in Jharkhand, adding that the third phase of the elections saw 61 percent voting.

"The polling in Jharkhand has also passed off peacefully. Of the polling stations, 271 were identified as critical. During this phase, all efforts were made to ensure free and fair polls. The third phase saw 61 percent of voters exercise their rights, while the overall cumulative figure for the state is 63.1 percent," he stated.

The five-phase assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, which started on November 25, have seen three of its phases completed. The fourth phase is scheduled to be held on December 14. The counting of the votes will take place on December 23.