J&K: 168 candidates in fray in last phase of DDC elections

State Election Commissioner (SEC), KK Sharma on Friday said that 28 Constituencies are set to go for polling in the eighth phase of the DDC polls and 285 Panch and 84 Sarpanch seats will also witness voting on Saturday across Jammu and Kashmir.

“A total of 28 DDC constituencies will go to polls, including 13 seats from Kashmir division and 15 from Jammu division, with 168 candidates contesting the last leg of the elections,” he told reporters.

Giving further details, the SEC said 83 candidates, including 31 women, are contesting in 13 DDC constituencies of Kashmir division. “In Jammu division, there are 85 candidates in fray for the 15 DDC constituencies in this phase, including 15 women, the SEC informed.

He said 6,30,443 electors, including 303275 women voters, are going to elect their representatives in all 28 DDC constituencies, adding that a total of 1703 polling stations have been designated with 1028 in Kashmir division and 675 in Jammu division.

The SEC further informed that of 165 Sarpanch vacancies notified in the eighth phase, 43 have been elected unopposed.

“There shall be a contest in 84 constituencies and 249 candidates including 52 females are in fray,” he added.

Similarly, he said that out of the total 1457 Panch vacancies notified in this phase, 496 have been elected unopposed while 285 constituencies will go for elections with 596 candidates contesting the elections, including 156 women candidates.

The SEC said that all the requisite arrangements for this phase are in place including man power, election material and security arrangements in all the poll going areas.

Referring to the arrangements in place in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SEC said adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure safety of all stakeholders including the voters coming to vote at the polling stations.

“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.