voting-for-j-k-assembly-polls-begins-amid-security

Voting on 24 assembly constituencies in J&K began on Wednesday, the first time since the revocation of Article 370. 

 

A total of seven districts across both sides of Pir Panjal are voting in the first phase of assembly polls, officials said.

 

The polls are being conducted after a decade-long pause; the last elections were held in 2014.

 

In 2019, the centre revoked the special status of the erstwhile J&K state and divided the state into two union territories, J&K and Ladakh.

 

All security-related arrangements are in place, and the polling is at 7 a.m. across all 24 constituencies, officials said.

 

Over 23 lakh voters will decide the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 Independents, who are running for 24 assembly segments — eight in three districts of the Jammu region and 16 in four districts of the Kashmir valley.

 

According to the ECI, a total of 23,27,580 electors are eligible to vote in phase 1, including 11,76,462 men, 11,51,058 women, and 60 third-gender electors.

 

“There are 1.23 lakh first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 19 years, along with 28,309 specially-abled and 15,774 elderly voters above the age of 85 who are also using their right to vote in this phase,” an EC official said.

 

The official added a total of 14,000 polling staff will oversee the process at 3,276 polling stations.

 

“There are 302 urban polling stations and 2,974 rural polling stations.

 

Four election staff, including the presiding officer, will be stationed in each polling station. In total, more than 14,000 polling officials have been deployed on duty for the 1st phase election,” he said.

 

Prominent faces in Kashmir whose fate will be sealed on Wednesday include CPI(M)’s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, National Conference’s Sakina Itoo, and PDP’s Sartaj Madni and Abdul Rehman Veeri.

 

PDP’s Iltija Mufti, running from Srigufwara-Bijbehara, and the party’s youth leader Waheed Para, from Pulwama, are also the contenders to watch for who is in the fray in the first phase.

 

The polling is scheduled to end at 6 pm.

 

The results for this phase will be announced on October 8 along with phase 2 and phase 3.