Srinagar, Aug 20 (PTI) – Over 90,000 new voters have been added in Jammu and Kashmir following a special summary verification of photo voter lists, taking the total number of voters to 8,803,000, officials said on Tuesday.
The special summary of revision of photo voter lists with a cut-off date of July 1, 2024, has been completed in all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said.
They said there had been a significant increase in the number of female voters and first-time voters.
They said the stage was now set for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections and that the region had witnessed a significant increase of over 93,000 new voters, owing to a corresponding increase in the number of young men and women voters.
Officials said the number of polling stations across the Union Territory also increased by 209.
“With a focus on ensuring accuracy, inclusiveness and purity of voter lists, the mammoth special exercise to revise the summary in JK has been successfully completed,” said Pandurang K Pole, chief electoral officer of the UT.
“We have succeeded in including all eligible voters who have reached the age of 18 or who have registered for the first time. We have also been able to identify and exclude ineligible voters and correct errors and inconsistencies to improve the completeness and accuracy of the voter rolls,” he said.
“According to the Special Summary Revision -2024, which was completed with the publication of the final electoral roll, the total number of eligible voters is 8803,000. This includes 4489,000 men, 4313,000 women and 168 voters of the third gender,” the CEO said.
In this Special Summary Revision, a total of 93,284 voters were added in Jammu and Kashmir while the voter to population ratio improved from 0.59 to 0.60.
The CEO said the number of young voters in the 18-19 age group increased by 45,964, including 24,310 women, while the total number of female voters also increased by 51,142.
“This significant increase in the number of young voters in JK shows the commitment of young voters towards the electoral process,” the CEO said, adding that the total number of young voters in JK in the age group of 18-29 years is 25.34 lakhs.
This remarkable increase in the number of young first-time voters was due to the comprehensive SVEEP plan and its successful implementation by the respective District Election Commissioners under the overall leadership of CEO JK, he said.
The CEO also highlighted the special efforts made during the special revision of the summary, which resulted in an improvement in the gender balance among voters by two percentage points (from 959 to 961), representing a significant advance in female voter turnout.
In addition to the increased number of voters, the number of polling stations in Jammu and Kashmir has also increased this year, Pole said.
“The number of polling stations (PSs) in JK for the upcoming general elections has increased from 11,629 to 11,838 and the number of polling station locations (PSLs) from 8,930 to 9,168.”
“This increase of 209 polling stations and 238 polling station locations is due to rationalisation of polling stations and polling stations while ensuring that the distance is less than two kilometres to facilitate voters to cast their votes,” he said.
The CEO informed that as of now, there are 83,191 registered voters with disabilities in JK while the number of voters above 100 years of age is 2,428. PTI SSB TIR TIR
