Jammu and Kashmir: Polling for final phase of municipal elections underway

Amid stringent security arrangements, polling for the fourth and final phase of municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir is underway. The voting which began at 6 am will culminate at 4 pm.

While polling was originally scheduled to take place for 132 municipal wards, only 37 wards in central Kashmir’s Srinagar and Ganderbal districts will vote due to the boycott by local parties including National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and CPI(M). In the final phase, the electorate will seal the fate of 150 candidates in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts.

As many as 260 candidates are contesting for 132 wards. Single candidates contesting elections from the remaining wards have been elected unopposed, while other wards will remain vacant. The state’s aggregate voter turnout in the last three phases was 41 percent, the lowest in the history of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the wake of the municipal elections, security has been beefed up at polling stations, while checkpoints have been set up in Srinagar and Ganderbal, where vehicles and commuters are being searched thoroughly to ensure seamless completion of polls.

Among the three polling phases, maximum voter turnout was recorded in the first phase in Jammu and Kashmir with 56.7 percent, while least voter turnout was registered during the third phase with 16.4 percent.

Counting of votes will take place on October 20.

Notably, the National Conference (NC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the CPI(M) have boycotted the polls to protest the legal challenge to Article 35A of the Constitution in the Supreme Court.

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