Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Sept 30: Over 8,000 polling staff and thousands of security force personnel today took positions at 1842 Polling Stations set up across 16 Assembly constituencies of North Kashmir, where voting will be held tomorrow in the third phase Assembly elections.
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The roads around the distribution centre of the polling material including Electronic Voting Machines across North Kashmir were blocked for smooth conduct of the exercise. The polling staff started arriving at the distribution centres in the morning and by the afternoon the exercise was completed and poll staff along with material including EVMs were dispatched in the vehicles that were parked near the centre since yesterday morning.
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Ensuring that the polling proceeds without disruptions, a multi-tier security blanket has been put in place across Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts of North Kashmir. The troops along the LoC in all the three districts have been put on maximum alert.
The personnel from police, armed police and central paramilitary forces, who were dispatched to the Polling Stations early this morning. Sensitive areas have been identified, and additional forces have been stationed in these areas to pre-empt any disturbances.
Strong rooms, where the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be stored after the close of polls tomorrow, have been secured with round-the-clock digital surveillance to ensure their safety and integrity. Strict monitoring measures, including webcasting at every polling station, have also been put in place by the ECI to enhance transparency.
All Polling Stations will have webcasting facilities, a significant move by the ECI to maintain the transparency of the election process. Webcasting will allow election officials to monitor the voting in real-time and address any issues promptly. This technological intervention is expected to bolster confidence in the voting process, ensuring that electoral malpractices are minimized.
Baramulla district has more than 7,22,923 registered voters, including 3,64,517 male, 3,58,394 female and 12 third gender voters and there are 908 polling Stations across the district.
It comprises of seven Assembly constituencies of Sopore, Rafiabad, Uri, Baramulla, Wagoora-Kreeri, Gulmarg and Pattan. 20 candidates remain in the final electoral fray for election in 7-Sopore; 12 in 8-Rafiabad; 6 in 9-Uri; 25 in 10-Baramulla; 13 in 11-Gulmarg; 12 in 12-Wagoora- Kreeri; while 13 candidates remain in the fray in 13-Pattan.
There are 540483 total registered voters in Kupwara district with 2,70,776 males, 2,69,697 females and 10 tansgenders. The ECI has established 622 Polling Stations across the district.
The district comprises six constituencies of 1-Karnah; 2-Trehgam; 3-Kupwara; 4-Lolab; 5-Handwara; and 6-Langate. 8 candidates are in the fray for election in 1-Karnah; 10 in 2-Trehgam; 8 in 3-Kupwara; 11 in 4-Lolab; 7 in 5-Handwara; while 15 candidates are in the fray in 6-Langate.
The District Bandipora has a total of 2,59,893 voters including 1,32,679 male 1,27,208 female and 6 third gender voters. The ECI has established 312 polling stations, 46 as urban Polling Stations and 266 rural Polling Stations in the district.
The district comprises three Assembly constituencies – Sonawari, Bandipore and Gurez. 18 candidates are in fray for election in 14-Sonawari; 19 in 15-Bandipora; while 5 candidates are in the fray in 16-Gurez (ST).
The voting will take place from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm.
The prominent contestants in this phase are former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beg, former Minister Taj Mohidin, former Minister and chief of Peoples Conference Sajjad Lone, former Minister and Apni Party leader Ghulam Hassan Mir, former Minister and PDP leader Syed Basharat Bukhari, former Minister and PC leader Imran Ansari, former Minister and NC leader Choudhary Ramzan and former MP and PDP leader Fayaz Ahmad Mir.
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