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NEW DELHI: The marked improvement in security situation in J&K since the last assembly elections — with terror-related incidents this year down to one-tenth of the levels seen in 2014 — has been a major contributory factor in the good turnouts witnessed in most parts of Kashmir region, according to J&K administration sources. This, an official said, is significant as these are the first assembly polls in J&K after the nullification of Article 370 and its reorganisation into a Union Territory in 2019.
However, polling percentages in all but one district of Jammu division, where voting is over, have dipped sincembere 2014.A plausible explanation could be the recent spike in terror activities in the region, among other things. Till Sept 27, 15 terror attacks and encounters had left 11 civilians and 17 security personnel dead in Jammu region.
Of the 13 J&K districts that went to the polls in the first two phases on Sept 18 and 25, eight recorded average turnouts lower than in 2014 assembly polls. While five of these 13 districts are in Jammu region, three are in Kashmir Valley.
Only one among the six Jammu districts where polling has been conducted in Phase 1 and 2 has shown a rise in voter turnout as compared to the 2014 polls, while four of the seven such districts in Kashmir recorded an upward trend in polling percentages. A comparison with 2024 LS polls shows that all but one district — Reasi in Jammu region — witnessed a lower turnout in the current polls.
Reasi had witnessed the biggest terror attack of the year in July, with firing by terrorists on a bus killing eight passengers and the bus driver. Also, encounters with terrorists have caused multiple security forces casualties in Poonch and Rajouri in the recent months.
Overall, terror-related incidents in J&K are down from 222 in 2014 to 23 so far this year, with 15 reported in Jammu region and 8 in Kashmir. Security forces’ fatalities too have fallen to 25, of which 17 were in Jammu region alone, from 47 in 2014, as have civilian killings from 28 in 2014 to 16 (11 in Jammu region & 5 in the Valley) in 2024.
As many as 45 terrorists were killed this year against 110 in 2014. Of these, 35, including 18 foreign terrorists and 17 local terrorists, were neutralised in Kashmir while Jammu saw the end of 10 terrorists.
As compared to 2014 that saw 23 grenade attacks, nine IED strikes and 41 hartal calls, 2024 has witnessed zero such incidents. “Four of the seven districts — Kulgam, Shopian, Pulwama and Srinagar, all once terror hotbeds — fared better in terms of voter turnout as compared to 2014 assembly polls,” a security official pointed out.
Even the campaign and the two polling days so far were peaceful and incident-free, with no poll boycotts called by the separatists, who rather joined the democratic exercise as candidates, or the usual law and order disruptions like stone-pelting that would keep the Kashmiri voters indoors, said another officer.
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