Amid tight security, the 3rd phase of District Development Council elections and Panchayat by-polls will be held on Friday with as many as 305 candidates in the fray.
Giving poll details, State Election Commissioner, KK Sharma said that voting in the third phase on Friday will be conducted in 33 constituencies— 16 in Kashmir and 17 in Jammu division. In all there are 280 constituencies in the UT (14 in each district).
The polling, he said, will be from 7 am to 2 pm. “There are total 305 candidates in the electoral fray including 166 from Kashmir and 139 from Jammu division for DDC elections in this phase,” he said, adding that out of 305 candidates, 252 are male and 53 female.
Regarding Sarpanch by-polls, Sharma said that out of 126 constituencies, polling shall take place in 66 and a total of 184 candidates are contesting in phase III. The candidates include 144 male and 40 female. He said that 40 Sarpanch constituencies have been filled unopposed.
Similarly, in Panch by-elections, Sharma said that there are 1738 constituencies, and out of them 798 have been elected unopposed. Polling shall take place in 327 constituencies and there are 749 candidates are in fray.
The SEC informed that in the third phase, 737648 electors are eligible to cast their votes which includes 385675 males and 351973 females.
He also said that out of these 737648 voters, 374604 are from Jammu division and 363044 from Kashmir division.
He said that 2046 polling stations including 792 in Jammu division and 1254 in Kashmir division, have been set up for the conduct of Phase III elections in a smooth manner.
The SEC said that all the arrangements regarding elections have been completed including manpower, election material and security arrangements.
He said that adequate security arrangements have been made in all the poll-bound areas.
Regarding the SOPs related to COVID19 pandemic, the SEC urged the people to follow the guideline issued by the Commission besides wearing facemasks and maintaining social distance during polling.
He said that sanitizers, thermal scanners and facemasks have been arranged at the polling stations.
Special polling stations
Special Polling Stations at Women College Gandhinagar, Jammu and Girls Higher Secondary School Udhampur have been set up to facilitate physical voting by Kashmiri Migrants.
The SEC appealed the people to come forward and participate in the “festival of democracy” and urged them to go to their polling stations and cast their vote.
It is pertinent to mention that DDC Elections & Panchayat By-Polls 2020 are being held in 8 phases commencing from 28th November to 19th December.
The counting of votes shall be conducted on 22nd of December.
Police here said that extraordinary security arrangements have been put in place for third phase.