7 J&K districts to vote after a decade today

Srinagar/Jammu: Seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir, located on either side of Pir Panjal mountain range, will vote for the first time in an assembly election in 10 years as the stage is set for phase 1 polling in the union territory on Wednesday.

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 Jammu region and 16 in four districts of Kashmir valley. This will be the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. According to the Election Commission (EC), a total of 23,27,580 electors are eligible to vote in phase 1, comprising 11,76,462 male, 11,51,058 female and 60 third-gender electors.

“As many as 1.23 lakh youth between the age 18 to 19 years, along with 28,309 Person with Disabilities (PwDs) and 15,774 elderly voters above the age of 85 are also eligible to exercise their franchise in phase one,” an EC official said.

The official said a total of 14,000 polling staff will oversee the process at 3,276 polling stations, ensuring smooth conduct of the polls.

“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 staff will be deployed on duty for the 1st phase election,” he said. “As the first phase of voting will take place on September 18, Jammu and Kashmir police have made elaborate security arrangements for the assembly polls so that maximum number of people can exercise their right to vote,” Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone V K Birdi told PTI. The security arrangements include multi-tier forces from the Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF), Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police and J-K Police, Birdi added.

Prominent candidates in Kashmir 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 Bijbehara, is in a triangular contest with NC’s Bashir Ahmad Veeri and BJP’s Sofi Mohammad Yousuf.