Jammu and Kashmir Records Second-Highest Voter Turnout In Lok Sabha Elections

Jammu and Kashmir recorded a 58% voter turnout in the recent Lok Sabha elections. This is the second-highest in its history. The first election after the abrogation of Article 370 saw a significant increase in voter participation.

Previously, Article 370 was revoked two months after the last general elections. The voter turnout then was 44.97%. At that time, Jammu and Kashmir had six Lok Sabha seats, including Ladakh.

The Anantnag-Rajouri constituency in the Kashmir Valley saw a 54.46% turnout. In the 2019 elections, the previous Anantnag seat had only an 8.94% turnout. The highest voter turnout in Anantnag before delimitation was 70% in 1984.

The Kashmir Valley has three Lok Sabha seats: Srinagar, Baramulla, and Anantnag-Rajouri. The other two seats, Jammu and Udhampur, are in the Jammu division. Both Srinagar and Baramulla saw a significant rise in voter turnout compared to 2019.

Srinagar recorded a 38.49% turnout this time, up from 14.43% in 2019. This is the highest since 1996. Baramulla saw a 59.10% turnout, up from 34.57% in 2019, the highest since 1984.

Excluding Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir had a voter turnout of 40.13% in 2019 and 46.56% in 2014.

In Jammu and Kashmir, while the Valley's seats showed unexpected enthusiasm from voters, the two Jammu seats had mixed results.

Jammu recorded a 72.22% turnout in 2024, almost unchanged from 72.23% in 2019. Udhampur saw a slight decline with a turnout of only 68.27%, down from 70% in 2019.

The abrogation of Article 370 also impacted women voters in the Valley. In Srinagar, women voters increased from 12.67% in 2019 to 33.21% in 2024.

In Baramulla, women voters rose from 31.76% to 55.63%. Data for Anantnag-Rajouri is not yet available.

Udhampur saw a slight decline in women voters, from 69.21% in 2019 to 70.75%. In Jammu, more women than men turned out to vote, with an increase from 72.20% in 2019 to 72.71%.