“Hope our next polling be held…”: Migrant Kashmiri pandits cast vote for Baramulla constituency

Udhampur (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 20 (ANI): The migrant Kashmiri pandits living in several parts of Jammu and Kashmir cast their votes for Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency on Monday.

Speaking to ANI after casting his vote, Sunil, a migrant Kashmiri pandit expressed his desire to cast a vote in his homeland next time. Special polling stations were set up in the region for migrants to exercise their franchise.

“Since 1990, our vote was of no use. But today, it feels like our vote has some value. The way we have lived 34 years of exile, our vote seems like a contribution to the solution of that exile. We hope our next polling will be done in our homeland. This time, Kashmiri Pandits should not be sidelined,” Sunil told ANI.

Sunil cast his vote in the special polling station set up for the Kashmiri migrants in Jagti township on Monday.

The special polling station at Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Udhampur also witnessed electors including women voters as well as first-timers turning out to exercise their franchise.

To ensure the safety and smooth conduct of the process, stringent security arrangements were put in place. Para-military forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police were deployed in and around the polling stations, ensuring a secure environment for the voters. The number of registered Kashmiri migrant voters in Udhampur for the Baramulla Parliamentary constituency stands at 205.

Baramulla constituency witnessed 44.90 per cent voter turnout on Monday, according to the Election Commission of India data as of 3 pm.

The fifth phase of the general elections witnessed a voter turnout of 47.53 per cent across 49 constituencies in six states and two union territories on Monday as of 3 pm, as per the ECI data. West Bengal recorded 62.72 per cent with the highest voter turnout closely followed by Ladakh which recorded 61.26 per cent.

The voter turnout in other states as of 3 pm is 53.90 per cent in Jharkhand, 47.55 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 48.95 per cent in Odisha, 45.33 per cent in Bihar and 38.77 per cent in Maharashtra.