The Baramulla parliamentary constituency is one of the 49 seats voting in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 today, May 20.
The constituency in north Kashmir is one of the three seats in the Kashmir division of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)—other than Srinagar and Anantnag-Rajouri—where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not fielded any candidates. The seat comprises assembly segments of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, and Budgam districts.
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Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) chief Sajad Lone are the main contenders for the seat. Independent candidate Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, is also in the fray, along with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Fayaz Ahmad Mir.
Also Read: Engineer Rashid, jailed under UAPA, electrifies phase 5 Lok Sabha contest in Baramulla today
Srinagar voted in the fourth phase of polling on May 13, and Anantnag-Rajouri will go to the polls in the sixth phase on May 25. Srinagar recorded a record 38 per cent voter turnout during polling on May 13. This was the highest voting per centage in the constituency since the 1996 general elections when it saw 41 per cent of voters exercising their franchise.
Will Baramulla cross 50% turnout?
After Srinagar‘s record, all eyes are on the two seats – Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri. Past election records say that both the seats have registered higher voter turnout than the predominantly urban Srinagar seats.
In 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Baramulla saw a voter turnout of 35 per cent as against 14.43 per cent turnout in Srinagar. In 2014 elections, Baramulla recorded 39 per cent turnout as against 25.86 per cent in Srinagar. And in 2009, the Baramulla seat recorded 41 per cent turnout while Srinagar recorded 25.55 per cent turnout in the same year.
In a departure from earlier elections, Lok Sabha polls 2024 are being held sans any boycott calls. The poll boycott has not influenced the Baramulla seat earlier, either.
In 1998, the Baramulla seat saw 42 per cent voter turnout while Srinagar saw a turnout of 30.6 per cent. In 1999, the Baramulla seat registered 28 per cent turnout while Srinagar recorded 11.93 per cent turnout. In 2004, Baramulla witnessed 36 per cent turnout while Srinagar saw 18.57 per cent voter turnout. In the 1996 elections, Baramulla saw 50 per cent voting as against Srinagar’s 41 per cent turnout.
Scrapping Article 370
The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 mark the first general elections in the erstwhile state since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019 by the BJP-ruled Union government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the people of Srinagar for the ‘encouraging’ turnout, saying that the abrogation of Article 370 has enabled people to express their potential and aspirations fully. Even Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Srinagar voting was “the greatest testament to the rightness of the decision” to revoke Article 370.
However, the BJP has not fielded a candidate in any of the three seats in Kashmir, including Baramulla. In fact, both the main contenders, Omar Abdullah and Sajad Lone, have been vocal critics of the Centre’s decision to scrap Article 370 and 35A in August 2019.
After a high-octane campaign by all four main candidates, the turnout in Baramulla is also expected to be higher than in Srinagar. It might even surpass the 1996 record when the seat in north Kashmir registered a 50 per cent voter turnout—the highest in about three decades.
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Published: 20 May 2024, 09:04 AM IST
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