Bigwigs among 219 candidates in fray
*Security, all other arrangements in place
Sanjeev Pargal/ Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Sept 17: Fate of 219 candidates including bigwigs from different political parties will be locked in EVMs by 23.27 lakh eligible electorates tomorrow in 24 Assembly constituencies spread over seven districts as first phase of polling will be held for the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the first after abrogation of Article 370 and conversion of erstwhile State into the Union Territory on August 5, 2019.
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Twenty four constituencies-eight in Doda region of Jammu division and 16 in four districts of South Kashmir will vote tomorrow amid tight security arrangements.
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Officials said all arrangement for the voting have been made with polling parties dispatched to the Polling Stations along with EVMs. Security personnel were sent to the polling booths well in advance for sanitization of the areas.
“In view of surge in terror attacks and presence of foreign terrorists in the mountainous areas, special security arrangements have been made in all eight Assembly seats of Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban districts in the Jammu region,” the officials said, adding Army has already been deployed in the mountains for anti-terror operations while paramilitary forces, JKP and SOG were assigned the election duties to ensure smooth, free and fair and incident-free elections.
The constituencies going to the polls tomorrow in Jammu region include Inderwal, Kishtwar, Paddar-Nagseni, Bhaderwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban and Banihal; all in Doda region.
A total of 23,27,580 electors are eligible to vote in phase 1, comprising 11,76,462 male, 11,51,058 female and 60 third-gender electors.
“As many as 1.23 lakh youth between the age 18 to 19 years, along with 28,309 Person with Disabilities (PwDs) and 15,774 elderly voters above the age of 85 are also eligible to exercise their franchise in phase one,” an EC official said.
The official said a total of 14,000 polling staff will oversee the process at 3,276 polling stations, ensuring smooth conduct of the polls.
In Jammu, trying their luck are former Ministers Sunil Sharma and Shakti Parihar (BJP), Sajjad Kitchloo and Khalid Najib Suhrawardhy (NC), Vikar Rasool Wani (Congress), Abdul Majid Wani (DPAP) and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, a three-time MLA who is fighting as an independent after he was denied ticket by DPAP which he had joined after quitting Congress in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad two years ago.
Shagun Parihar, a young female BJP candidate has shot into prominence as she is kin of martyrs and BJP leaders Anil and Ajit Parihar. She is contesting against Kitchloo in Kishtwar seat.
Former MLA Daleep Singh Parihar (BJP), former MLC Firdous Tak and Imtiyaz Shan (PDP), NC’s Pooja Thakur who is sitting chairperson of District Development Council Kishtwar and Mehraj Din Malik, sitting DDC Member of AAP are among other prominent faces in the fray in the Doda region.
Even as the National Conference (NC) and the Congress are in alliance, both the parties have fielded candidates in Banihal, Bhaderwah and Doda under ‘friendly contest’, while a rebel NC leader Pyare Lal Sharma is fighting as an Independent from Inderwal and two BJP rebels, Rakesh Goswami and Suraj Singh Parihar, are also trying their luck from Ramban and Paddar-Nagseni constituencies respectively.
Meanwhile, South Kashmir is set to vote tomorrow in the first phase of Legislative Assembly elections where the fate of 155 candidates will be determined by over 14 lakh voters.
The first phase of the Legislative Assembly elections in Kashmir will cover 16 Assembly Constituencies across four districts of South Kashmir. These include Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam in Kashmir. The Assembly seats that are voting tomorrow are Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, and Pahalgam.
In Anantnag district 64 candidates are in fray, followed by 45 in Pulwama district, 25 in Kulgam district and 21 in Shopian district.
In Anantnag district, 10 candidates are fray in 41-Dooru; 10 candidates in 42-Kokernag (ST); 9 candidates in 43-Anantnag West; 13 candidates in 44-Anantnag; 3 candidates in 45-Srigufwara-Bijbehara; 13 candidates in 46-Shangus-Anantnag East; and 6 candidates are contesting in 47-Pahalgam.
In Pulwama district, 14 candidates are contesting in 32-Pampore; 9 candidates in 33-Tral; 12 candidates in 34-Pulwama; and 10 candidates are contesting in 35-Rajpora.
In Kulgam district, 6 candidates are contesting in 38-DH Pora; 10 candidates in 39-Kulgam; and 9 candidates are contesting in 40-Devsar.
In Shopian district, 10 candidates are contesting in 36-Zainapora and 11 candidates are contesting in 37-Shopian.
The Anantnag district comprises seven Assembly Constituencies with 6,67,843 electorates which includes 3,36,200 males, 3,31,639 females, and 4 transgender voters. A comprehensive network of 844 polling stations has been established across the district.
The Pulwama district has registered a total of 4,07,637 voters, including 2,02,475 males, 2,05,141 females, and 21 transgender across its four Assembly constituencies. ECI has established 481 polling stations throughout the district
The Kulgam district comprises three Assembly constituencies, with 3,28,782 registered voters, including 1,64,852 male, 1,63,917 female and 13 transgender voters. A comprehensive network of 372 polling stations has been established by the ECI for free, fair and transparent elections.
Shopian District is divided into two Assembly constituencies, with a total of 2,09,062 registered voters, including 1,04,894 males, 1,04,161 females, and 7 transgender voters. To facilitate the voting process, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has established 251 polling stations across both constituencies.
The voting will take place from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm.
The main contestants in South Kashmir are NC’s Mohammad Khalil Bandh and PDP’s Waheed Ur Rehman Para in Pulwama Assembly constituency, NC’s Hasnain Masoodi and PDP’s Zahoor Ahmad Mir in Pampore, former NC leader Shabir Ahmad Kullay in Shopian, former PDP leader and former legislator Aijaz Ahmad Mir from Zainapora, former Minister and NC leader Sakina Itoo in DH Pora, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami in Kulgam, PDP leader Sartaj Madni in Devsar, NC’s Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi and PDP’s Abdul Gaffar Sofi in Anantnag West, senior PDP leader and former Minister Abdul Reham Veeri in Anantnag East, PDP leader Mehboob Baigh and former JKPCC president Peerzada Sayeed in Anantnag, NC’s Bashir Ahmad Veeri and PDP’s Iltija Mufti in Bijbehara, former JKPCC president Ghulam Ahmad Mir from Dooru, Altaf Ahmad Kaloo in Pahalgam.
The Polling staff and voting machines already reached the polling stations amid tight security this afternoon.
The security has been intensified across South Kashmir around the polling Stations and area dominations is also being done by the security forces across the region for smooth conduct of the vote.
Inspector General of Police Kashmir, V K Birdi, told Excelsior that elaborate security measures are in place for smooth conduct of the vote.
Birdi said that personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces, Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police, and State Executive Police, will be deployed with a multilayered security setup in place during the vote.
The Kashmir Police Chief said that area domination is also being conducted for smooth movement poll staff. “This applies to polling booths, polling locations, and distribution centers. Area dominations, especially Road Opening Parties (ROPs), have been conducted to ensure smooth movement, allowing polling staff and the public to reach their destinations on time and complete the polling process in a free, fair, and secure environment,” he said.
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