J-K Assembly elections: Voting underway for third and final phase of polls

The election will witness West Pakistani refugees, the Valmiki Samaj, and the Gorkha community exercise their franchise

Voters on Tuesday queued up outside polling stations in 40 seats across seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir where polling is underway in the third and final phase of assembly elections, officials said.

More than 39.18 lakh eligible voters are set to decide the fate of 415 candidates, including two former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Baig.

The voting, which commenced at 7 am, is progressing peacefully amid tight security arrangements, the officials said.

While the Election Commission was yet to release any voter turnout data, official sources said an estimated turnout of 3.5 per cent was recorded in the first hour of polling in Kashmir.

According to the officials, "moderate to heavy" polling is going on in most of the assembly segments in north Kashmir.

Polling is underway in three border districts of north Kashmir --? Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara.

The assembly segments where polling is being held are Baramulla, Uri, Rafiabad, Pattan, Gulmarg, Sopore and Wagoora-Kreeri in Baramulla district; Kupwara, Karnah, Trehgam, Handwara, Lolab and Langate in Kupwara district; and Bandipora, Sonawari and Gurez in Bandipora district.

A total of 202 candidates are in the fray in these 16 segments.

Voting is also being held in 24 assembly constituencies in Udhampur, Samba and Kathua districts in the Jammu region.

Having gained voting rights for the first time following the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, enthusiastic West Pakistani refugees, Valmiki Samaj and Gorkha community members thronged polling stations in the early hours.

They had previously participated in the Block Development Council and the District Development Council polls in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

More than 400 companies of security forces, including paramilitary and armed police personnel, have been deployed to ensure smooth voting.

A voter turnout of 61.38 per cent was recorded in the first phase of the elections on September 18 and 57.31 per cent in the second phase on September 25.

The results are scheduled to be announced on October 8.

Among the prominent candidates in the fray in this phase are Raman Bhalla (R S Pura), Usman Majid (Bandipora), Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurez), Taj Mohiuddin (Uri), Basharat Bukhari (Wagoora-Kreeri), Imran Ansari (Pattan), Ghulam Hassan Mir (Gulmarg), Choudhary Lal Singh (Basohli), Rajiv Jasrotia (Jasrota), Manohar Lal Sharma (Billawar), Sham Lal Sharma, and Ajay Kumar Sadhotra (Jammu North).

To facilitate voter participation, the Election Commission has set up 5,060 polling stations and ensured 100 per cent webcasting across all constituencies. Of the total, 974 are urban polling stations and 4,086 are rural.

Special initiatives to enhance participation include 240 special polling stations, 50 pink polling stations managed by women and 43 polling stations manned by persons with disabilities.

Additionally, there are 45 green polling stations promoting environmental awareness, 29 polling stations located near the Line of Control and the International Border for border residents, and 33 unique polling stations.

For migrant voters of the Kashmir division, 24 special polling stations -- 19 in Jammu, four in Delhi and one in Udhampur district -- have been established.

Officials said a comprehensive security strategy has been implemented at each polling station to ensure peaceful voting.

Polling is scheduled to conclude at 6 pm.