Higher voter participation in 2 phases: CEC
High security in all PSs, vulnerable areas
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 30: All 24 Assembly constituencies in Jammu division were fully geared up for third and final phase of polling tomorrow with security personnel taking control of Polling Stations and other vulnerable areas and polling parties along with EVMs reaching their destinations to ensure smooth conclusion of the first Assembly poll in the UT post abrogation of Article 370.
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After polling, focus would shift to the counting of votes scheduled to be held on October 8 for all 90 seats of the Assembly.
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Nearly 20,000 polling staff has been engaged in tomorrow’s voting for 40 seats of Jammu and Kashmir. Along with them, a large number of paramilitary and police personnel have been deployed at Polling Stations and other areas to ensure that the terrorists don’t manage to strike anywhere during the voting process. Army has been carrying out anti-terror operations in mountainous areas.
Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said the turnout of women was more as compared to male electors in 17 of the 50 constituencies of J&K where polls have been held.
The votes polled by each candidate will be displayed after every round of counting, he said in New Delhi ahead of final phase of polling in the UT tomorrow.
“The rules are already in place in this regard and people should not fall for misinformation being spread about the counting procedure,” Kumar said.
He said the last two phases saw a higher voter participation coupled with more number of candidates in the fray as compared to the past.
Kumar noted that the UT was ahead in seeking clearances on the Suvidha application for rallies and processions. He described this as an overall increase in participation in democratic process
Officials said all polling parties with EVMs and security personnel reached the Polling Stations this evening to ensure that the voting starts at the right time at 7 am.
Jammu district is the largest in Jammu division which would go to polls in final phase tomorrow with 11 seats followed by Kathua six, Udhampur four and Samba three.
All seven seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in Jammu and Kashmir fall in these four districts and will witness voting tomorrow. The SC Reserve seats include Akhnoor, Marh, Bishnah and Suchetgarh, all in Jammu district, Ramgarh in Samba district, Kathua Main in Kathua district and Ramnagar in Udhampur district. BJP has fielded candidates on all seven Reserve seats while Congress is contesting six and has left Kathua Main for the National Conference, as per the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties.
The BJP won all seven SC reserve seats in 2014. However, this time, the seats have been rotated by the Delimitation Commission.
The highlight of the voting will be participation of West Pakistani refugees, Valmiki Samaj and Gorkha community who got the voting rights in Assembly, Urban Local Bodies and Panchayat elections only after the abrogation of Article 370. They have earlier voted in Panchayat and ULB polls in 2018. Previously, they were eligible to cast votes only in the Parliament elections.
Officials said adequate security arrangements have been put in place in the poll-bound areas to ensure “terror-free and peaceful” polling.
Amid tight security arrangements, thousands of election staff along with poll material left their respective district headquarters this morning to take positions at their designated polling stations by this evening.
The voter turnout was robust in the earlier phases, with 61.38 per cent participation recorded in the first phase on September 18 and 57.31 per cent in the second phase on September 26.
In Jammu division, Jammu district accounts for the highest number of 11 segments (Bishnah, Suchetgarh, R S Pura, Jammu South, Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Akhnoor and Chhamb), followed by six seats in Kathua district (Bani, Billawar, Basohli, Jasrota, Kathua and Hiranagar), four in Udhampur district (Udhampur West, Udhampur East, Chenani and Ramnagar) and three in Samba (Ramgarh, Samba and Vijaypur).
With tomorrow’s polling, the voting process for all 43 Assembly seats in Jammu division and 47 in Kashmir division will conclude. Counting for all 90 seats will be held on October 8 and results are expected the same day.
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