Five lakh voters in J&K’s Kathua gear up for polls

Jammu, Sep 28 : Kathua district in J&K is all geared up for polls during the third and final phase of Assembly elections on October 1.

The district comprises six Assembly Constituencies (ACs) of Bani, Billawar, Basohli, Jasrota, Kathua and Hiranagar with a total of 5,06,679 electorate, among which 2,65,420 are male voters, 2,41,256 are female and 3rd gender.

To facilitate the voters for smooth and hassle-free electoral participation, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has established 704 polling stations in the district; 73 as urban polling stations and 631 as rural polling stations.

Among all the six ACs of the district, 67-Kathua (SC) AC has the highest number of 1,09,000 registered electorate, comprising 57,243 male and 51,757 female voters.

The constituency houses 131 polling stations to facilitate a smooth and inclusive voting experience for all registered voters. Among these 57 are urban polling stations and 74 are rural polling stations.

64-Billawar AC comes next with a voter population of 94,845, among which 49,590 are males and 45,255 are females.

To facilitate the voters for exercising their right to franchise, 130 polling stations have been established in the constituency among which 4 are urban polling stations and 126 are rural polling stations.

The 68-Hiranagar AC comes next with 88,261 total registered voters, of which 45,913 are males and 42,348 are females. To ensure smooth electoral participation, 110 polling stations have been established across the constituency, of which 7 are urban and 103 are rural polling stations.

Similarly, 66-Jasrota AC has 87,092 registered electorate, among which 45,495 are males and 41,597 are females. To ensure a smooth and hassle-free voting process, 132 rural polling stations have been set up in the constituency.

65-Basohli AC has a total of 69,407 voters, of which 36,396 are males and 33,009 are females 02 third-gender voters are also registered here. In order to ensure a participatory voting process, 107 polling stations have been established in the constituency, among which 5 are in urban areas while 102 are in rural areas.

Likewise, 63-Bani AC has a 58,074 registered voter population, of which 30,783 are males and 27,290 are females besides one transgender voter. For a smooth voting process, ECI has established a network of 94 rural polling stations in this Constituency.

In order to boost voter turnout and ensure that every voter can exercise their franchise with ease, specialized polling stations have been established across the district including all-women Pink polling stations, PwD manned polling stations, Youth manned polling stations, unique polling stations and Green Polling Stations.

Meanwhile, all arrangements are being put in place for smooth and peaceful polling in the district where voting is taking place in the third phase of General Elections to Legislative Assembly-2024 on October 1.

Currently, a number of voter education programmes are underway in the various parts of the district to generate awareness among the electorate regarding the importance of exercising the franchise and maximise voter turnout.