J&K people have chosen ballot over bullet, says ECI

New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said the people of J&K want to write their own destiny as they have chosen ballot over bullet.

While addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that they recently visited J&K to take stock of the election preparations.

"A great enthusiasm was seen among the people. They wanted to participate in the election process...," said Kumar.

He said, "The long queues at the polling booth in J&K during the Lok Sabha elections are proof that people not only want change but also want to raise their voices by becoming a part of that change. This glimpse of hope and democracy shows that the people want to change the picture. They want to write their own destiny. The people of Jammu and Kashmir chose ballot over bullet in Lok Sabha elections..."

The Chief Election Commissioner said, "During Lok Sabha elections in J&K, people were there to participate in the elections. The long queues and the shine on their faces were a testament to this...There was thriving political participation in the entire election..."

The CEC said that during the Lok Sabha elections, "J&K saw an exceptional response to the call of democracy with a three-decade high voter turnout of 58.58 per cent... Most heartening was the visuals of long queues of young, old, women voters waiting patiently to exercise their franchise."

The Supreme Court had directed the ECI to conduct elections in Jammu & Kashmir by September 30.

This directive was part of the apex court's ruling on pleas that challenged the revocation of J&K's special status. The Supreme Court upheld the Central government's decision to nullify Article 370 and also stressed the necessity of taking steps to restore statehood to the UT.

The J&K Assembly has 90 Assembly constituencies of which 74 are general, SC are seven and ST nine.

The ECI said the total number of voters in the UT is 87.09 lakh, of which 44.46 lakh are males, 42.62 lakh are females, 3.71 lakh are first-time voters and 20.7 lakh are young voters.