Jammu (NVI): The State Election Commission in Jammu and Kashmir has imposed restrictions on the conduct of any exit poll till the last of the eight-phase District Development Council (DDC) election is completed.
The DDC elections along with panchayat bypolls have commenced today in the Union Territory..
In this regard, an order issued by State Election Commissioner, KK Sharma read, “In exercise of powers conferred under Section 36 of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act 1989, the Election Authority (State Election Commission) hereby prohibits the conduct of any exit poll and publishing or publicizing/displaying the result of exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner in the ongoing District development Council Elections in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, till the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in the last phase of these elections, i.e. 2:00 PM on 19th December.”
There are 280 DDC seats in the union territory – 140 each in Jammu and Kashmir regions, with 14 constituencies being earmarked in each of the 20 districts of the union territory.
Out of 1,475 candidates, 296 contested the first phase of the DDC polls, 172 of them are from the Kashmir valley and 124 from the Jammu region.
-CHK
