Jammu (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir State Election Commissioner (SEC) KK Sharma today said that the Union Territory is all set for the second phase of voting for DDC polls that will see 321 candidates in the electoral fray, including 196 from Kashmir division and 125 from Jammu division.
While speaking at a press conference here, SEC KK Sharma briefed the media about the arrangements being made to conduct the DDC elections and Panch/Sarpanch by-polls in a smooth and peaceful manner.
While giving details, the SEC said that there are total 280 constituencies in J&K (14 in each district) out of which voting will be conducted in 43 constituencies, including 25 from Kashmir Division and 18 from Jammu Division, from 7 am to 2 pm in Phase-2.
Regarding Sarpanch by-poll elections, KK Sharma said that these will be conducted in 83 constituencies and a total of 223 candidates are contesting including 151 male and 72 female candidates. Similarly, in Panch by-polls, which are going to be held in 331 constituencies, total 709 candidates are in the electoral fray including 552 males and 157 females on 331 vacant seats of Panchs during 2nd phase of Panchayat elections. He also informed that 58 sarpanches (29 males, 29 females) and 804 panches (548 males, 256 females) have been elected unopposed.
Sharma further said that more than 57 lakh voters in J&K are eligible to cast their votes, out of which more than 7 lakh 95 thousand voters shall use their right to vote in phase 2. He added that out of 7,95,118 lakh voters, more than 3,88,273 are from Jammu division and 4,06,845 are from Kashmir division. Kashmir division has 2,12,024 male voters and 1,94,821 female voters where as Jammu division has 2,04,721 male voters and 1,83,553 female voters.
2,142 polling stations including 837 in Jammu division and 1,305 in Kashmir division have been setup to conduct the Phase II polls in a smooth manner, he said.
Sharma said that all the arrangements regarding elections have been completed. Security arrangements have also been already put in place, he said.
Regarding the SOPs related to COVID 19 pandemic, the SEC urged the people to follow the guideline issued by the Election Commission, besides putting their face masks and maintaining social distancing during polling. He also said that sanitisers, thermal scanners 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 vote.
The SEC said that special polling booths have also been created for Kashmiri migrants at Jammu and Udhampur.
It is pertinent to mention here that DDC elections & Panchayat by-polls 2020 are being held in 8 phases commencing from November 28 to December 19. The counting of votes shall be conducted on December 22.
-ARK
