9.46 pc polling till 0900 hrs in 5th phase of DDC elections in J&K

The highest voter turnout till 0900 hrs was witnessed at Jammu with 16.63 per cent while the lowest polled was recorded in Shopian at 0.47 per cent. Braving chilly weather conditions, the oldest voter, identified as 110-year-old Ghulam Ahmad Guru alias Amakabali, exercised his franchise at Narian Bagh in central Kashmir district of Ganderbal.

An official spokesperson said Kashmir Division recorded an overall polling percentage of 4.81 per cent while Jammu Division recorded 13.58 per cent upto 0900 hrs. “Voting is being held between 0700 hrs to 1400 hrs,” he said.

He said in Kashmir Division, Pulwama has recorded voting percentage of 1.85 per cent, Baramulla 8.01 per cent, Kulgam 3.94 per cent, Anantnag 3.19 per cent, Bandipora 6.61 per cent, Ganderbal 3.46 per cent, Kupwara 5.19 per cent and Budgam 8.34 per cent till 0900 hrs.

“In Jammu division, Kishtwar has recorded voting percentage of 10.57 per cent, Udhampur 8 per cent, Jammu 16.63 per cent, Kathua 12.60 per cent, Ramban 9.62 per cent, Doda 11.17 per cent, Samba 17.14 per cent, Poonch 14.34 per cent, Rajouri 15.72 per cent and Reasi 12.15 per cent till 0900 hrs,” he added.

He said polling is underway on Thursday in 37 DDC constituencies, including 17 from Kashmir division and 20 from Jammu division, besides the voting is also going on in 58 vacant Sarpanch and 218 vacant Panch seats.

He said that against the 17 DDC constituencies of Kashmir division going to poll, there are 155 candidates in fray including 30 females. In Jammu division, there are 144 candidates in fray for the 20 DDC constituencies in this phase, including 40 females.

He further said there are 125 Sarpanch vacancies which have been notified in the 5th phase and out of these 30 have been elected unopposed. “The election is underway in 58 constituencies and 175 candidates, including 51 females are in fray,” he added.

Braving rains and chill, voters stand in long queues to cast ballots in JK DDC 5th Phase polls

Similarly, he said that out of the total 1412 Panch vacancies notified in this phase, voting is going on in 218 constituencies with 527 candidates including 137 female candidates.

In the fifth phase, he said 827519 electors are eligible to cast their votes including 394234 females. “Among these 439529 are from Jammu division and 387990 are from Kashmir division,” he said.

He said that 2104 polling stations have been set up across the UT for this phase, of which, 914 are in Jammu division and 1190 are in Kashmir division. “Of 2104 polling stations, 1193 are Hyper sensitive, 472 are sensitive and 439 have been categorized as normal,” he added.

He said that all the requisite arrangements for this phase are in place including manpower, election material and security arrangements in all poll going areas.

“In view of Covid-19 pandemic, adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure the safety of all stakeholders including the voters. Sanitizers, thermal scanners and face masks have been arranged at the polling stations to ensure that SOPs issued by the concerned authorities, including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing are strictly followed at the polling stations,” he added.