JAMMU: As many as 86.9 lakh electorate including 3.4 lakh first-time voters are eligible to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday. He said 11,629 polling stations with an average 747 voters per polling station will be set up in the Union Territory, where 77,290 voters are above 85 years of age, including 2886 being more than 100 years. Talking to reporters here at the end of three-day long tour of Jammu and Kashmir to review poll preparedness, he requested the voters and the political parties to enthusiastically take part in the “festival of democracy”, assuring peaceful and inducement-free elections with “level playing field” for all the contesting parties. “We have been visiting different parts of the country to review poll preparedness and this was our last visit. We met leaders of various national and regional political parties, law enforcement agencies, chief secretary and DGP, and had detailed deliberations,” Kumar said. He said directions were passed for ensuring peaceful and temptation-free elections and also for ensuring maximum turnout of the voters. The CEC said there are 86.9 lakh voters including 44.34 lakh men and 42.55 lakh women registered in Jammu and Kashmir. The number also included 67,400 persons with disabilities and 158 transgenders. The electoral gender ratio of women voters has increased from 945 in 2019 to 954 in 2024, he said, adding there are 16 assembly constituencies where the electoral gender ratio is more than 1000. While 1.56 lakh women electors are between 18-19 years, the new female voters stand at 1.35 lakhs, he said. Against a total of 11629 polling stations, 9307 are located in rural areas and 2322 in urban areas, Kumar said, and added that 52 per cent of the polling stations (5814) have the facility of webcasting and 267 will be model polling stations. There will be 93 all-women-managed polling stations and 83 by persons with disabilities. The CEC said a total of 47 interstate check posts and 385 internal police checkpoints will be set up and manned round-the-clock as part of strict vigil on inter-state and international borders. Directions have also been passed for keeping a watch on the uncharted flights. Referring to his meeting with political parties, he said they demanded level playing field and no discrimination in providing security for campaigning. Kumar said the demands and concerns of the political parties have been taken note of and strict instructions were given to the concerned officers so that no such complaint is raised ever again. He said the officers were told to provide adequate security to senior political leaders in accordance with their threat perception so that they can freely campaign during the ensuing elections. The officers were warned of strict action in case they fail to perform their duties and ensure level playing field to all parties without any discrimination. “There is no place for violence, intimidation and threat to voters,” he said, directing immediate action against the culprits.
