Over 12 lakh electors to decide fate of 12 candidates in Srinagar LS seat on April 18

Over 12.95 lakh electors will exercise their right to franchise and decide the fate of 12 candidates, including former chief minister and NC president Farooq Abdullah, in the Srinagar parliamentary constituency on April 18 in the second phase of the general elections, officials said Friday.

The constituency is spread over 15 assembly segments, comprising three districts of central Kashmir Ganderbal, Srinagar and Budgam.

According to the figures provided by the chief electoral officer of the state, the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat has 12,95,304 registered voters 6,67,252 males, 6,27,282 females, 744 service voters (728 males and 16 females) and 26 transgender voters.

The election authorities have set up 1,716 polling stations in the constituency.

The 12 candidates in the fray are Farooq Abdullah of the NC, Sheikh Khalid Jehangir of the BJP, Nazir Ahmad Lone of the Rashtriya Jankranti Party, Irfan Raza Ansari of the J&K Peoples Conference, Abdul Rashid Ganie of the J&K National Panthers Party, Abdul Khaliq Bhat of the Shiv Sena, Aga Syed Mohsin of the J&K Peoples Democratic Party, Nazir Ahmad Sofi of the Manavadikar National Party, Showkat Hussain Khan of the JD(U), and independents Abdul Rashid Banday, Bilal Sultan and Sajad Ahmad Dar.

A total of 235 polling stations have been set up in Ganderbal district, which comprises the two assembly segments of Kangan and Ganderbal and has a total of 1,76,650 electors, the poll body said.

Srinagar, comprises eight assembly segments of Hazratbal, Zadibal, Eidgah, Khanyar, Habba Kadal, Amira Kadal, Sonawar and Batamaloo, and has 6,49,236 electors. A total of 857 polling stations have been set up across the district, it added.

Similarly, Budgam district, with five assembly segments of Chadoora, Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib and Chrar-i-Sharif, has 4,69,418 electors. As many as 624 polling stations have been set up in the district.

In the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, the highest and the lowest number of electors are registered in the Batamaloo assembly segment (1,27,916) and the Khanyar assembly segment (47,944) respectively.