Srinagar LS election: 52,100 Kashmiri migrants eligible to vote

Jammu, May 9 (PTI) As many as 52,100 Kashmiri migrant voters across the country are eligible to exercise their franchise in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar constituency on May 13.

The constituency is gearing up for an intense electoral showdown. As many as 17.4 lakh voters, including 8.7 lakh women, will decide the fate of 24 candidates in the fray.

Over 1.13 lakh Kashmiri migrants are registered to cast their votes for the Lok Sabha elections for three seats in the Valley, officials said.

“As many as 52,100 Kashmiri migrants will exercise their right to franchise from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on May 13. Of these, 25,760 are male voters and 26,340 are female voters,” Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), Migrants, Riaz Ahmed told PTI Video here.

He said there are 1,13,873 registered voters, including 56,290 men, 57,582 women and one transgender person, in three parliamentary constituencies of Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag.

A total of 26 polling stations have been set up for the migrants, out of which 21 are in Jammu, four in Delhi and one in Udhampur.

“We have set up 21 polling stations in Jammu. In view of the increase in voters, we have to set up some more axillary polling stations. For the Srinagar constituency, we have increased them to 23 polling stations,” Ahmed said.

The Election Commission (EC) has arranged pick and drop facility for 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 dates,” he said.

Special awareness camps were held in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi to ensure maximum participation of Kashmiri migrants in elections.

“There is an increase in the number of the voters registered for the polls in these elections as compared to the past,” he said.

There are two ways for 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, each vying to capture the imagination of the electorate with their respective agendas and promises.

The prominent candidates are Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi of the National Conference (NC) and Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

J&K Apni Party’s Muhammad Ashraf Mir, Democratic Progressive Azad Party’s Amir Bhat, J&K National Panthers Party (BHIM) candidate Hakikat Singh, Loktantrik Party’s Rubina Akhter and 18 Independents are also in the fray.