The voting timing was advanced by an hour from 7 am to 6 am and will continue till 4 pm.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The four-phased election began on October 8 and will end on October 16
- First phase of election was completed on Monday
- Both BJP and Congress expressed confidence about their victory in the civic polls
Jammu and Kashmir began voting for the second phase of urban local body polls on Wednesday.
Voting would take place at 544 polling stations across the state. 1,029 candidates – 881 in Jammu division and 148 in Kashmir division – are in the fray for 263 municipal wards, including 49 in Kashmir and 214 in Jammu.
Officials said the total electorate in these wards is 346,980 – 128,104 in Jammu division belonging to 18 municipal bodies and 218,876 in Kashmir division of five Municipal bodies.
The voting timing was advanced by an hour from 7 am to 6 am and will continue till 4 pm. Beerwah MLA and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in a Twitter post said, “If I believed conspiracy theories I’d believe it’s because journalists won’t be around to verify the genuineness of voters at that very early hour.”
Why are polling booths opening at 6AM? If I believed conspiracy theories I’d believe it’s because journalists won’t be around to verify the genuineness of voters at that very early hour. https://t.co/mLP6n4PJWM
Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 9, 2018
The four-phased election began on October 8 and will end on October 16. The next phases will take place on October 13 and 16.
As many as 270 polling stations have been designated for voting in Kashmir and 274 in Jammu.
#JammuAndKashmir: Earlier visuals from a polling booth in Bandipora as people cast their vote for the second phase of local body elections. pic.twitter.com/qxzkSLiigM
ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018
#JammuAndKashmir: Voting for the second phase of local body elections is underway in 13 districts of the state. Visuals from a polling booth in Srinagar’s Lawaypora. pic.twitter.com/kIii52avFS
ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018
A total of 3,372 nominations have been filed for 1,145 wards.
65 candidates – 61 of them from Kashmir valley – have already won the polls uncontested, while in 56 wards all in the valley – no nomination was received, so no polling is taking place in those places, PTI reported officials as saying.
#JammuAndKashmir: People queue up outside a polling booth in Udhampur to cast their votes for the second phase of local body elections. pic.twitter.com/15Sy9VXxC7
ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018
Voting underway in 13 districts of #JammuAndKashmir in the second phase of urban local bodies elections; #visuals from a polling station in Reasi pic.twitter.com/CpRO7ZFFow
ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018
Mobile internet services have been suspended in the entire South Kashmir. In the rest of the state, mobile internet services have been reduced to 2G.
Voting underway for 384 wards in 13 districts of #JammuAndKashmir in the second phase of urban local bodies elections; #visuals from a polling station in Katra pic.twitter.com/NhuhY5JUAC
ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018
Security has been upped at places where voting is underway. DGP J&K Police Dilbagh Singh said security arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the polls in all the areas where people would vote Wednesday, including in the 20 wards of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) in the city here.
Jammu and Kashmir: #Visuals from a polling station in Udhampur; voting for 384 wards in the second phase of urban local bodies elections began at 6 am today pic.twitter.com/c7iwiCRIP9
ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018
The first phase of election was completed on Monday, with Kashmir valley recording a voter turnout of 18.5 per cent. In the election to 238 wards in Jammu division, the turnout was recorded at 65 per cent. A very high voter turnout was witnessed in three districts of Jammu.
“We have witnessed a very high turnout in the Jammu region. The people have reposed their faith in the democratic process. We are thankful to them for coming out in huge numbers,” Sanjeev Verma, divisional commissioner, Jammu, told India Today TV.
The four-phase polling has been boycotted by two main regional parties – the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party – because of their opposition to Centre’s stand on Article 35A of the Constitution. The contest is between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.
Both BJP and Congress expressed confidence about their victory in the civic polls. “We are going to sweep these elections. The people of Jammu will give their verdict in favour of the BJP and we will register a big victory,” said BJP leader and former deputy CM Kavinder Gupta while speaking to India Today TV.
“The BJP will suffer a crushing defeat in Jammu. The people will punish them and the Congress will make a comeback in the region,” said J&K Congress Vice President Raman Bhalla.
Frisal, a part of Kulgam Assembly constituency, is represented by lone CPI(M) legislator M Y Tarigami, while Beerwah is represented in the state Assembly by the former chief minister and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah. Parties of Both Legislators are boycotting Municipal polls.
The government has declared holiday on the day of poll in the municipal areas concerned to enable voters cast their vote.
Jammu and Kashmir: 84-year-old woman arrives at a polling station in Reasi to cast her vote in the second phase of urban local bodies elections pic.twitter.com/QKnEKbPpZo
ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018
