Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The political fate of 873 candidates will be decided on Tuesday as the stage is set for counting of votes for the first assembly elections held in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir after a decade.
Officials said that all preparations have been made for fair and transparent counting of votes while elaborate security arrangements have been put in place around the counting centers set up in the 20 districts of the UT.
The counting will be held for all the 90 assembly constituencies at respective district headquarters in the 20 districts. In Srinagar, the summer capital of the UT, counting for the eight assembly constituencies will be held at Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Center (SKICC). For the remaining 82 seats of the 19 districts, counting will be held in the respective district headquarters.
Pandurang K Pole, Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir, said that counting will begin in the morning and conclude at around 3 in the afternoon.
"First the counting of postal ballots will be taken up and then counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will begin. Counting halls are under tight security and surveillance for transparent and hassle free counting of votes," Pole told ETV Bharat.
He said that for migrant votes, the counting will take place in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi where centers have been set up.
"Counting of votes for all the 90 seats will conclude, most likely by 3 pm in the afternoon. Observers have reached to all the district headquarters for observation," he said.
The Chief Electoral Officer said that training of the counting and allied staff has been already imparted so that no difficulty arises during the day.
Assembly elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir UT after a decade in three phases. The last assembly polls were held in December 2014 when BJP and PDP formed the coalition government.
The first phase of voting was held on September 18 in south Kashmir and Chenab valley seats. In phase 2 held on September 25, voting was conducted in 26 seats in central Kashmir and Pir panjal districts, while in the last phase polling was held in the north Kashmir and Jammu districts on October 1. Jammu region comprises 43 seats while the number of assembly seats in Kashmir is 47.
The total voter turnout in the three phases was 63.45 percent, two percent less than the 65.52 percent recorded in the 2014 assembly elections.
A total of 873 candidates contested the elections, among them 43 were women. National Conference and Congress contested in alliance on the 90 seats while People's Democratic Party contested on all seats. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contested on 62 seats only; of them 19 candidates were fielded in the Kashmir valley. The biggest number was independents whose figure stood at 346.
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