Around 50.53 per cent votes were polled on Friday in 33 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir during the third phase of District Development Council (DDC) elections amid tight security arrangements.Meanwhile, an Apni Party candidate from Kokernag, identified as Anees-ul-Islam, was shot at and critically wounded by unidentified gunmen in Anantnag on Friday.
An official said Reasi recorded the highest 75.20 per cent voter turnout while the lowest 10.87 per cent votes were polled in Pulwama.“Kupwara has recorded voting percentage of 46.25 per cent, Bandipora 56.73 per cent, Baramulla 30.94 per cent, Ganderbal 24.69 per cent, Budgam 50.18 per cent, Shopian 22.68 per cet, Kulgam 64.45 per cent and Anantnag 21.64 per cent,” he said.
He said in Jammu division, Kishtwar has recorded voting percentage of 70.35 per cent, Doda 59.51 per cet, Ramban 64.76 per cent, Kathua 62.18 per cent, Samba 70.15 per cent, Jammu 70.44 per cent, Rajouri 72.81 per cent and Poonch 72.18 per cent.“Kashmir Division recorded an overall polling percentage of 31.61 per cent while Jammu Division recorded 68.88 per cent,” he added.An official said that there are total 280 constituencies in the UT of J&K (14 in each district) out of which voting was on Friday conducted in 33 constituencies, including 16 from Kashmir Division and 17 from Jammu Division, from 0700 hrs to 1400 hrs in phase III.He further informed that there are total 305 candidates in the electoral fray, including 166 from Kashmir division and 139 from Jammu division, for DDC elections in Phase III. “Out of 305 candidates, 53 are females,” he added.Regarding Sarpanch by-polls, he said that out of 126 constituencies, polling was held in 66 constituencies and a total of 184 candidates were contesting in phase three including 144 male and 40 female candidates. “40 Sarpanch constituencies have been filled unopposed,” he added.Similarly, in Panch by-elections, he informed that there are 1738 constituencies, and out of them 798 have been elected unopposed. Polling was held in 327 constituencies and there are 749 candidates are in fray.He further informed that in the third phase, 737648 electors were eligible to cast their votes in phase III which includes 385675 males and 351973 females. He also said that out of these 737648 voters 374604 were from Jammu division and 363044 from Kashmir division. “2046 polling stations, including 792 in Jammu division and 1254 in Kashmir division, were setup for the conduct of Phase III elections in a smooth manner,” he said.
Meanwhile, State Election Commissioner, K K Sharma on Thursday said that all the arrangements regarding elections have been completed including man power, election material and security arrangements. He said that adequate security arrangements have been made in all the poll going areas.
Regarding the SOPs related to COVID 19 pandemic, the SEC urged the people to follow the guideline issued by the Commission besides wearing face masks and maintaining social distance during polling. He also said that sanitizers, thermal scanner and face masks have been arranged at the polling stations.
Special Polling Stations at Women College Gandhinagar, Jammu and Girls Higher Secondary School Udhampur have been setup to facilitate physical voting by Kashmiri Migrants.
The SEC appealed the people to come forward and participate in the festival of democracy and urged them to go to their polling stations and cast their vote. DDC Elections and Panchayat By-Polls 2020 are being held in eight phases, which commenced from November 28 to December 19. The counting of votes shall be conducted on December 22.