LS polls: Over 25k displaced Kashmiri Pandits eligible to vote in Baramulla

The constituency is gearing up for an intense electoral showdown for the fifth phase of elections with nearly 17.32 lakh voters, of which 8.59 lakh are women, to decide fate of 23 candidates in fray

More than 25,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandits voters from across the country are eligible to exercise their franchise in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla constituency on May 20.

The constituency is gearing up for an intense electoral showdown for the fifth phase of elections with nearly 17.32 lakh voters, of which 8.59 lakh are women, to decide the fate of 23 candidates in the fray.

The main contest is between Sajad Lone of the People's Conference and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference.

"A total of 25,821 Kashmiri migrants are registered as voters from Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency on May 20. Of these, 12,747 are male voters and 13,074 are female voters," Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), Migrants, Riaz Ahmed told PTI.

Twenty-six polling stations have been set up for the migrants, of which 21 are in Jammu, four in Delhi, and one in Udhampur, he said.

The Election Commission has arranged a pick-and-drop facility for the Kashmiri migrant voters. It will be available from 6 am to 6 pm, he said.

"The transport facility will be available where there is more concentration of migrant voters on polling day," he said.

There are two ways for the migrant voters to cast their votes. "First, they can do so by filling up an M-form, which is prior information and can vote in the special polling set up for them," Ahmed said.

The second option is voting through postal ballots for which they have to fill up Form-12C. The high-stakes contest has attracted a diverse array of candidates from various political parties and independent groups.

The contest became interesting with the entry of Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid. The two-time legislator is contesting from Tihar jail in Delhi. The People's Democratic Party candidate Fayaz Mir, who is a former Rajya Sabha member, is also in the fray.

The Lok Sabha seat spread over 18 assembly constituencies in four districts of Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora and Budgam, has over 17.32 lakh voters who will vote across 2,103 polling stations.