J&K urban local body polls HIGHLIGHTS: The four-phase elections began on October 8 and will end on October 16. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi 10-10-2018)
Polling to the second phase of Jammu and Kashmir local body polls is underway. On Wednesday, 49 wards of three municipal committees, a municipal council and parts of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation will vote. Following a low turnout in the first phase of municipal polls which concluded on October 8, the state election office Tuesday decided to change the poll timings again to 6 am to 4 pm. The initial timings were 7 am to 2 pm. This was changed from 7 am to 4 pm.
Over 1,000 candidates will participate in the second phase, and security arrangements have been put in place for smooth conduct of the voting process, according to the officials.
In the first phase of local body polls on Monday, the turnout in Jammu region was nearly 70 per cent but in the Valley it was just 8.2 per cent. The four-phase elections began on October 8 and will end on October 16.
J&K urban local body polls HIGHLIGHTS: The first phase of local body polls in J&K, being held after 13 years amid calls for a boycott from militants, presented a stark contrast in voting patterns. (PTI photo)
Nearly 80 per cent of over 1.26 lakh voters exercised their franchise in Jammu while there was a low voter turnout yet again in Kashmir with 3.4 per cent of 2.20 lakh electorate casting their votes Wednesday in the second phase of municipal polls in the state, officials said.
A paramilitary soldier stands guard above people queuing up to cast their votes at a polling station at Inderkot Sumbal District Bandipora. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
High voter turnout was registered in Kishtwar (68.3%), Doda (67.5%), Ramban (76.4%), Reasi (76.3%), Udhampur (65.7%) and Kathua (73.3%) districts. Areas like Anantnag (1%), Baramulla (5.2%), Kupwara (3.4%) and Srinagar (1.8%) saw low voter turnout due to the call for boycotting elections by militant and separatist groups.
Normal life was affected in poll-bound areas in Kashmir Valley Wednesday due to a strike called by separatists against the urban local bodies elections in the state, PTI reported. Shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut in the poll-bound areas of the Valley, officials said, adding some other areas of the city also observed a spontaneous shutdown as shops remained closed.
The separatists - under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) – Tuesday asked people in the region to observe a strike.
A paramilitary soldier stands guard above people queuing up to cast their votes at a polling station at Inderkot Sumbal District Bandipora. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
A relative helps an old woman as she leaves a polling station after casting her vote at Inderkot Sumbal District in Bandipora. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
Former militant Farooq Ahmad Khan, who is contesting local body election on a BJP ticket, cast his vote at a polling station in Srinagar.
The Kathua district which has one municipal council and five municipal committees witnessed 39.15 per cent polling till 10 am. It was 37 per cent in Kathua, Hiranagar (41), Nagri Parole (51), Lakhanpur (52), Billawar (41) and Basohli (38). The details of Reasi and Katra municipal committees were not yet available.
In Ramban district which has four municipal committees, the poll percentage was 32.9 till 10 am. In Ramban, except for ward no. 2 where polling had to be stopped following the death of BJP candidate due to cardiac arrest this morning, it was 34.2 per cent till 10 am, followed by Batote (32) and Banihal (20.5). In Udhampur district also which has one municipal council and two municipal committees, officials said that 20.04 per cent of the electorate had exercised their right to franchise. It was 28 per cent in Udhampur town, Ramnagar (37.50) and Chenani (33.74) till 10 am.
Giving the break-up of poll percentage till 10 am, he said that it was 40 per cent in Doda, Bhaderwah (31), and Thathri (48). In neighbouring Kishtwar district where some youth were reported to have joined militancy in the Valley in the recent past too witnessed 33. 1 per cent polling. It was brisk since the beginning, with long queues at polling booths, said Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Angrez Singh. The polling was going on smoothly, said Doda Deputy Commissioner Simarandeep Singh.
At other places, there were long queues of voters at polling booths even in Chenab Valley comprising Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts which once used to be a hotbed of militancy. The overall poll percentage in Doda district with three municipal committees till 10 am was 36.22 per cent, said Doda Deputy Commissioner Simarandeep Singh. Such is the enthusiasm that the first vote was cast in Doda at 6.01 am, he added.
BJP’s Ramban MLA Neelam Langeh said that he appeared to be under 'tremendous pressure’ due to campaigning and other tactics being adopted by opposition candidates to win the election.
Except Ramban’s Ward No. 2 where polling was stopped following the death of a BJP candidate, brisk polling was taking place at all the places in 18 urban local bodies in six districts of Jammu region which went to polls during the second phase on Wednesday. The deceased Azad Singh Raju was above 60, sources said, adding that he was proceeding to the polling station at that time. He died around 6.40 am, sources said, adding that as the news came the polling in the ward was stopped as he was one of the contestants in the area.
Polling in Ramban Municipal Committee's ward No. 2 was stopped only after 40 minutes following the death of a BJP candidate Azad Singh Raju Wednesday morning. Disclosing this, sources said that the deceased, who was also one of the contestants in the area, died around 6.40 am. He was reportedly proceeding to the polling station at that time. Ramban Deputy Commissioner Showkat Azad Bhat said that he was examining the death certificate of Azad Singh and will soon convey his decision in the matter.
The government has declared a holiday on the day of poll in the municipal areas concerned to enable voters cast their vote.
Polling began Wednesday for the second phase of the four-phased municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir to seal the fate of 1,029 candidates in fray across the state. Voting began at 6 am on Wednesday morning amid stringent security arrangements, officials said. The officials said 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. A total of 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, they said.
In the first phase of polling in Jammu district, the highest turnout of 89 per cent was witnessed in Jourian, followed by Gho Manasa (86.21), Bishnah (85.44), Khour (82.13), R S Pura (80.14), Akhnoor (80.49), Arnia (80.16) and Jammu Municipal Corporation (61.92). Rajouri district’s Thanamandi, which was once a hotbed of militancy, registered the highest voting percentage of 90.23. This area falls on the Mughal Road connecting Poonch and Rajouri districts to the Valley. The second highest voting percentage in the first phase here, 89.63, was registered in Sunderbani, followed by Kalakote (86.25), Nowshera (86.01) and Rajouri (74.41).
In the first phase polls Monday, threats from militant groups kept a majority of people away from polling booths in Kashmir Valley for where the turnout was a paltry 8.3 per cent, whereas over 65 per cent of the electorate voted in the Jammu and Ladakh divisions of the state. Polling on Monday was by and large peaceful in the four-phase election to urban local bodies, which has been boycotted by two main regional parties — the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The timings of the voting was changed so that more people can come out to vote. “This has been done with the hope that more people will come out to vote,” said an election officer. “In the first phase, we observed that most people cast their votes early in the morning. They fear to come out later in the day.” Read More
Mobile internet services have been suspended in the entire south Kashmir as voting for 13 districts in the second phase of urban local bodies elections takes place in the state. The mobile internet services have been reduced to 2G in rest of Kashmir. — ANI
Voting underway in 13 districts of Jammu and Kashmir in the second phase of urban local bodies elections. Visuals from polling stations in Reasi and Katra. (ANI photos)
An 84-year-old woman arrives at a polling station in Reasi to cast her vote in the second phase of urban local bodies elections.
Welcome to our LIVE blog. Polling to the second phase of Jammu and Kashmir local body polls is underway. Security arrangements have been put in place across booths. Follow to get the latest updates.