Army prepared for first phase of polling in J-K: GOC 15 Corps

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 15 Corps, Lt. General Subrata Saha, on Monday said that the army is fully prepared for the first phase of Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls beginning tomorrow.

"Tomorrow, we have elections in Ganderbal and Bandipore, I have just come from there,and we are prepared. We are aware of the kind of inputs coming in, and we are also prepared to respond to challenges that may emerge from it," Lt. General Saha told a press conference in Srinagar.

"The army is conscious of the requirement of security of soft targets and this responsibility is taken collectively by all forces," he added.

Lt. General Saha further said the terrorists are coming up with young recruits and weapons like pistols which show that their leadership is remaining behind due to the robust security grid.

"The terrorists are also pushing IEDs and heavy arms for which our army is aware. The counter infiltration is on," he added.

In Jammu and Kashmir, fifteen assembly segments of the state are going to polls in the first phase. This includes all four assembly seats of Ladakh, five seats in Kashmir and six seats in Jammu region.

The assembly segments going to polls tomorrow include Nobra, Leh, Kargil and Zanskar (in Ladakh); Gurez, Bandipora, Sonawari, Kangan and Ganderbal (in Kashmir) and Kishtwar, Inderwal, Doda, Bhaderwah, Ramban and Banihal (in Jammu division).

A total of 10,502,50 voters, including 5,49,698 males and 5,00,539 females, besides 13 transgenders are eligible to exercise their right to franchise in the first phase of the polls.

The counting of votes in Jammu and Kashmir will take place on December 23.