31 DDC constituencies to witness polling on Dec 13 across J&K

As 124 candidates including 47 women are trying out their luck in Jammu and Kashmir's by-polls, 31 Constituencies are all set to go for polling in the sixth phase of ongoing District Development Council (DDC) polls on December 13.

JAMMU:31 Constituencies are all set to go for polling in the sixth phase of ongoing District Development Council (DDC) polls on December 13, meanwhile 334 Panch and 77 Sarpanch seats will also witness voting on the same day across Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing an evening press conference here, State Election Commissioner (SEC), KK Sharma informed that a total of 31 DDC constituencies will go to polls including 14 seats from the Kashmir division and 17 from the Jammu division.

Giving further details, the SEC said that against the 14 DDC constituencies of the Kashmir division going to poll tomorrow, there are 124 candidates in fray including 47 women. In Jammu division, there are 121 candidates in fray for the 17 DDC constituencies in this phase, including 53 women.

748301 electors (390432 male and 357869 female voters) are going to elect their representatives in all 31 DDC constituencies, he said and added that a total of 2071 polling stations have been designated with 1208 in Kashmir division and 863 in Jammu division.

The SEC further informed that of 127 Sarpanch vacancies notified in the 6th phase, 37 have been elected unopposed. There shall be a contest in 77 constituencies and 229 candidates including 65 women are in fray, he added.

Similarly, he said that out of the total 1548 Panch vacancies notified in this phase, 334 constituencies will go for elections with 740 candidates contesting the elections including 180 women candidates.

The SEC said that all the requisite arrangements for this phase are in place including manpower, election material, and security arrangements in all poll going areas.

While referring to the arrangements in place in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SEC said adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure the safety of all stakeholders including the voters coming to vote at the polling stations.

He further said that Sanitizers, thermal scanners, and face masks have been arranged at the polling stations to ensure that SOPs issued by the concerned authorities, including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing, are strictly followed at the polling stations.