54 pc voter turn out till 5pm in second phase of polling in J-K

Voting for the second phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir began at 7 am on Wednesday. Over 25 lakh eligible voters will seal the fate of 239 candidates across 26 constituencies in six districts of the Union Territory. In this phase, 25,78,099 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballot, comprising 13,12,730 lakh male voters, 12,65,316 lakh female voters, and 53 third-gender voters.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reiterated that the opposition will use its full force to pressurise Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.

Addressing a public rally in Sopore, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said that for the first time in history, a state was downgraded into a 'union territory' and injustice was served to the people of the territory and the INDIA bloc will fight for its restoration.

"We wanted that the statehood be restored before elections. All the people of Jammu and Kashmir wanted the elections to take place after the restoration of the statehood. The first and foremost issue is regarding your statehood. Several UTs have been made states, and states have been bifurcated. But this is the first time in history that a state has been turned into a Union Territory. It did not happen, the first step is election. But after this, the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir has to be restored," Rahul Gandhi said.

"INDIA Alliance will pressurise PM Modi in the Parliament for this. If they don't do this, then we will restore your statehood as soon as the INDIA bloc forms the government at the centre. If we want this apple to reach America and Japan, statehood has to be restored," Rahul Gandhi added.

Notably, Rahul Gandhi's rally in J-K coincided with the second polling phase in the J-K that is being held after a decade.

The last phase of polls will be held on October 1, and counting of votes will be held on October 8. (ANI)