Srinagar: Following the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A on August 5, last year, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir is all set for its first major electoral exercise, District Development Council (DDC) polls to be held from Saturday.
According to the officials, elections for 12,153 panchayat constituencies will also be conducted along with the DDC polls and out of these, 11,814 are in the Valley while the rest 339 are in Jammu.
Campaigning for the first phase came to an end on Thursday and the guidelines have been issued by the Election Commission for the safe conduct of the electoral exercise, which takes place amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
These include lowering the cap on the maximum number of voters for a polling booth and staggering of polling hours.
Besides, sanitisation of electronic voting machines, wearing of masks and other protective gear by polling personnel and availability of thermal scanner, hand sanitiser, soap and water will be ensured.
State Election Commissioner KK Sharma interacted with deputy commissioners of all districts of Jammu and Kashmir through video conferencing which was also attended by the respective CMOs and senior officers of the state election commission.
He said that a foolproof mechanism has been devised for the postal ballots from absentee voters especially COVID-19 patients in-home or in institutional isolation.
At least 1,475 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of these polls, the officials said.
Out of 1,475 candidates, 296 are contesting the first phase of the DDC polls, they said.
They also added that 172 of them are from the Kashmir valley and 124 from the Jammu region. In the first phase of the DDC elections, 43 constituencies will go to polls - 25 in Kashmir and 18 in Jammu, the officials said.
The eight-phase elections are seen as a triangular contest among the BJP, People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) and the Apni Party.
There are 280 DDC seats in the Union Territory - 140 each in Jammu and Kashmir regions, the officials said. They further added that 14 constituencies have been earmarked in each of the 20 districts of the Union Territory.
Read: INTERVIEW: Kashmir Divisional Commissioner explains DDC polls
For the by-elections for panchayats, 899 candidates are in the fray for the panch seats and 280 for the sarpanch seats, the official said, adding, "A total number of 2,644 polling stations have been set up and there are be 7,03,620 electors for this phase.
"Voting for the first phase will take place from 7 am to 2 pm, they said.
Sharma has directed for the setting up of special polling stations for Kashmiri migrants at Jammu and Udhampur so that they can effectively exercise their right of franchise.
Those registered in Jammu will vote at the designated polling stations at Jammu and those at Udhampur would be voting at polling stations set up in that district, he said.
SEC appeals the people to go to their polling stations and cast their vote
In addition, State Election Commissioner KK Sharma today held a press conference and briefed the media about the arrangements being done to conduct the DDC elections and panchs/sarpanches by-polls in a smooth and peaceful manner.
While giving the details regarding District Development Council elections, the SEC said that there are total 280 constituencies in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (14 each in Jammu-Kashmir division) out of which voting will be conducted in 43 constituencies from 7 am to 2 pm in phase I.
He further informed that there are a total of 296 candidates are in the electoral fray including 207 male and 89 female candidates for DDC elections in Phase I.
Regarding Sarpanchs by-poll elections, Sharma said that the sarpanch election will be conducted in 94 constituencies and a total of 279 candidates (203 males, 76 females) are contesting in phase I.
Similarly, in panch by-poll elections, which are going to be held in 368 constituencies, a total of 852 candidates are in electoral fray out of which 635 are male and 217 are female candidates. He also informed that 768 Panchs including 36 sarpanches have been elected unopposed.
State Election Commissioner further informed that there are total 67 lakh voters in Jammu and Kashmir who are eligible to cast their votes out of which 7 lakh voters shall use their right to vote in phase I. He also said that 2146 polling stations have been set up to conduct the elections of Phase I in a smooth manner.
The SEC said that all the arrangements regarding elections have been completed besides manpower, election material and security arrangements have also been already put in place. He said that adequate security arrangements with the deployment of security forces have been done.
Regarding the SOPs related to COVID 19 pandemic, the SEC urged the people to follow the guideline issued by the Election Commission besides the usage of masks and maintaining the social distance during polling.
He also said that sanitizers, thermal scanner and face masks shall also be provided to the voters, in case they forget to carry their own face masks/ sanitizers.
The SEC appealed to the people to come forward to participate in the biggest festival of democracy and urged them to go to their polling stations and cast their vote.
