Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged the people of Jammu and Kashmir to come forward to vote in the third and final phase of the Assembly elections in the union territory.
Voting in 40 seats across seven districts, including the winter capital Jammu began at 7 am on Tuesday. More than 39.18 lakh eligible voters are set to decide the electoral fate of 415 candidates, including two former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Beig.
"Today is the third and last round of voting in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. I request all voters to come forward and cast their votes to make the festival of democracy a success," Modi said in a post in Hindi on X.
"I am confident that apart from the young friends who are going to vote for the first time, women power will also participate in the voting in large numbers," the prime minister said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the people of the Union Territory should exercise their franchise to form a government that would "keep away terrorism, separatism, corruption and dynastic politics". Shah also said Jammu and Kashmir needed a government that was "visionary and could take strong decisions for security, peace and stability".
The assembly segments in the Kashmir region going to the polls are Baramulla, Uri, Rafiabad, Pattan, Gulmarg, Sopore, and Wagoora-Kreeri (Baramulla district), Kupwara, Karnah, Trehgam, Handwara, Lolab, and Langate (Kupwara district), and Bandipora, Sonawari, and Gurez (Bandipora district). A total of 202 candidates are in the fray in these 16 segments. Voting is also being held in 24 assembly constituencies in the Jammu region, including in Udhampur, Samba, and Kathua districts.
The first phase of the elections on September 18 saw 61.38 per cent participation and the second phase on September 25 saw 57.31 per cent voter turnout. The results are scheduled to be announced on October 8.