Jammu: More that 65% of voters registered their choice amid incessant rains on Friday in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in Udhampur parliamentary constituency, officials said.
As the weather conditions improved in most places around noon, long queues started forming outside polling stations in the constituency that encompasses an expansive area of 16,707 square kilometres.
An Election Commission (EC) official said that an overall 65.08% voter turnout has been recorded till 7pm.
This is the first major electoral battle after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories in 2019.
Udhampur Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh and his wife Kanta Andotra, cast their votes in Kathua.
Ch Lal Singh, whose election rallies were well-attended, exuded confidence of his win. “I salute the people of my constituency for their overwhelming response and support. Never before in my political career have I received such an overwhelming response from the people,” he told reporters.
BJP leader Balwant Singh Mankotia, his wife and their daughter Akshunya Mankotia were among the first to cast their votes.
Around 16.23 lakh voters across Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts are deciding the fate of 12 candidates, including Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh of the BJP, Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) nominee Ghulam Mohammad Saroori.
While Dr Jitendra Singh, who won the elections in 2014 and 2019, is seeking a third consecutive term, Ch Lal Singh had won the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency in 2004 and 2009.
Former chief minister and DPAP chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad’s confidant GM Saroori is a three-time former MLA from Inderwal in 2002, 2008 and 2014.
Udhampur-Doda parliamentary constituency is spread over 18 assembly segments with Kathua district accounting for the maximum six seats, Udhampur four, Kishtwar and Doda districts three each and Ramban two.
A total of 1,472 polling stations of the 2,637 were equipped with webcasting facilities. The constituency had recorded 70.2% polling in the 2019 general election.
There were 701 polling stations in Kathua, 654 in Udhampur, 529 in Doda, 405 in Kishtwar and 348 in Ramban.
Udhampur-Doda parliamentary constituency had 16,23,195 voters, comprising 8,45,283 men, 7,77,899 women and 13 from the third gender.

KR Desk