Voting begins for 7th phase of J&K panchayat polls

Voting for seventh phase of the nine-phased panchayat polls began Tuesday at over 2,700 polling stations in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The voting began at 8 am at 2,714 polling stations - 576 in Kashmir division and 2,138 in Jammu division, they said.

The officials said 892 polling stations have been categorised as "hypersensitive" in this phase, including 428 in Kashmir division and 464 in Jammu division.

They said 5,575 candidates are in the fray for 341 sarpanch and 1,798 panch seats, while 85 sarpanch and 912 panch have been elected unopposed in this phase.

An electorate of 4,75,865 are eligible to vote for sarpanch constituencies and 3,45,880 for panch constituencies, the officials said.

They said all arrangements, including security-related preparations, have been put in place to ensure smooth polls.

The officials said at the end of six phases of the panchayat polls, an overall voter turnout of 73.6 per cent has been recorded in the state, with a poll percentage of 46.1 per cent in the Kashmir division and 82.8 per cent in the Jammu division.