Newly Wed Couple Arrives At Polling Station In J&K's Udhampur To Cast Vote — Watch

A newlywed couple arrived at J&K's Udhampur Polling Station to cast their vote as the phase 1 of polling began today. 

Lok Sabha Elections: The Lok Sabha elections kicked off on Friday, as polling in the first phase is underway. The polling is being conducted in constituencies of several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir, among others.

Amid the phase 1 polling, an interesting video surfaced from the Udhampur Polling Station. In the video, a newlywed couple can be seen arriving at the polling station directly from their wedding to cast their vote. The video of the couple, Radhika and Sahil, in their wedding outfits, is doing the rounds on social media.

In Udhampur, more than 16.23 lakh voters will decide the fate of 12 candidates, including Union Minister Jitendra Singh, in the fray from the constituency consisting of 18 assembly segments spanning five districts -- Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Udhampur and Kathua. The constituency, which was reshaped with three assembly constituencies of Reasi district carved out on the recommendations of the delimitation commission, had recorded 70.2 per cent polling in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Encompassing an expansive area of 16,707 square kilometres, the constituency boasts of a diverse electorate comprising 16,23,195 eligible voters. Among them are 8,45,283 male voters, 7,77,899 female voters and 13 third-gender voters, reflecting the inclusivity of the democratic process, they said.

To facilitate seamless voting, the official said, a total of 2,637 polling stations -- 2,457 in rural areas and 180 in urban areas -- have been set up across the constituency, including 701 in Kathua, 654 in Udhampur, 529 in Doda, 405 in Kishtwar and 348 in Ramban. Moreover, 1,472 polling stations will be equipped with webcasting facilities to further enhance transparency in the democratic process, they said.