A voter turnout of 65.48 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Tuesday, according to Election Commission data.

Polling in the 40 Assembly segments across seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir, including the winter capital Jammu, began at 7 am amid tight security and is scheduled to conclude at 6 pm.

Long queues outside polling stations since early morning marked the enthusiasm among people who voted for the first time in the Assembly elections post the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

More than 39.18 lakh eligible voters are set to decide the fate of 415 candidates, including two former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Baig, and several former ministers and legislators.

Officials said polling was going on peacefully in all segments including special polling stations along the International Border and Line of Control (LoC) with no untoward incident reported from anywhere.

A voter turnout of 65.48 per cent was recorded till 5 pm. The polling is scheduled to conclude at 6 pm, the EC said.

Udhampur district recorded the highest turnout of 72.91 per cent, followed by Samba (72.41 per cent), Kathua (70.53 per cent), Jammu (66.79 per cent), Bandipora (63.33 per cent), Kupwara (62.76 per cent), and Baramulla (55.73 per cent).

Among the constituencies, Chhamb in Jammu district was leading with 77.35 per cent polling recorded in the first 10 hours. Sopore segment, once a terrorist and separatist stronghold, recorded the lowest turnout of 41.44 per cent, the EC data showed.

In Jammu district’s 11 segments, Bishnah (SC) recorded 72.75 per cent polling, Suchetgarh (SC) 68.02 per cent, R S Pura-Jammu South 61.65 per cent, Bahu 57.07 per cent, Jammu East 60.21 per cent, Nagrota 72.94 per cent, Jammu West 56.31 per cent, and Jammu North 60.79 per cent, Akhnoor (SC) 76.28 per cent, Marh (SC) 76.10 per cent and Chhamb 77.35 per cent.

In the six seats of Kathua district, Bani recorded 71.24 per cent voter turnout, Billawar 69.64 per cent, Basohli 67.24 per cent, Jasrota 71.79 per cent, Kathua (SC) 71.49 per cent and Hiranagar 71.18 per cent.

In Udhampur district’s four segments, Udhampur West recorded 73.20 per cent, Udhampur East 74.07 per cent, Chenani 73.79 per cent and Ramnagar (SC) 70.38 per cent polling.

In the three seats of Samba district, Ramgarh (SC) recorded 73.10 per cent polling, Samba 71.16 per cent and Vijaypur 73.05 per cent.

In Baramulla district’s seven seats, Sopore recorded 41.44 per cent, Rafiabad 58.39 per cent, Uri 64.81 per cent, Baramulla 47.95 per cent, Gulmarg 64.19 per cent, Wagoora-Kreeri 56.43 per cent and Pattan 60.87 per cent.

In the six seats of Kupwara district, Karnah registered 66.30 per cent, Tregham 62.27 per cent, Kupwara 59.68 per cent, Lolab 61.22 per cent, Handwara 69.06 per cent and Langate 59.81 per cent.

In the three seats of Bandipora district, Sonawari registered 65.56 per cent, Bandipora 58.60 per cent and Gurez (ST) 75.89 per cent.

Having gained voting rights for the first time following the abrogation of Article 370, enthusiastic West Pakistani refugees, Valmiki Samaj and Gorkha community members thronged polling stations in the early hours to exercise their franchise.

They had previously participated in the Block Development Council and the District Development Council polls in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

More than 400 companies of security forces, including paramilitary and armed police personnel, have been deployed to ensure smooth voting.

A voter turnout of 61.38 per cent was recorded in the first phase of the elections on September 18 and 57.31 per cent in the second phase on September 25.

The results are scheduled to be announced on October 8.

Among the prominent candidates in the fray in this phase are Raman Bhalla (R S Pura), Usman Majid (Bandipora), Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurez), Taj Mohiuddin (Uri), Basharat Bukhari (Wagoora-Kreeri), Imran Ansari (Pattan), Ghulam Hassan Mir (Gulmarg), Choudhary Lal Singh (Basohli), Rajiv Jasrotia (Jasrota), Manohar Lal Sharma (Billawar), Sham Lal Sharma, and Ajay Kumar Sadhotra (Jammu North).

To facilitate voter participation, the EC has set up 5,060 polling stations and ensured 100 per cent webcasting across all constituencies. Of the total, 974 are urban polling stations and 4,086 are rural.

Special initiatives to enhance participation include 240 special polling stations, 50 pink polling stations managed by women and 43 polling stations manned by persons with disabilities.

Additionally, there are 45 green polling stations promoting environmental awareness, 29 polling stations located near the Line of Control and the International Border for border residents, and 33 unique polling stations.

For migrant voters of the Kashmir division, 24 special polling stations -- 19 in Jammu, four in Delhi and one in Udhampur district -- have been established.

Officials said a comprehensive security strategy has been implemented at each polling station to ensure peaceful voting.