Amid tight security arrangements, the voting for the 4th phase of District Development Council elections and panchayat by-polls will be held in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
Officials said that in the 4th phase 34 DDC constituencies shall be going to polls, 17 each from Jammu and Kashmir divisions. Along with this, by-polls to 50 vacant Sarpanch seats and 216 vacant Panch seats within these DDC constituencies shall also be conducted in this phase.
They said that against the 17 DDC constituencies of Kashmir division going to polls, 138 candidates are in fray including 48 females. In Jammu division, 111 candidates are in fray for the 17 DDC constituencies in this phase, including 34 females.
There were 123 Sarpanch vacancies notified in the 4th phase and out of these 45 have got filled unopposed. There shall be contests in 50 constituencies and 137 candidates including 47 females are in fray, they said.
Officials said that out of the total 1207 Panch vacancies notified in this phase, 416 have got filled unopposed and there is no contest in these constituencies. Polling shall take place in 216 panch constituencies and there are 478 candidates in fray including 129 females, they added.
As many as 717322 electors are eligible to cast their votes including 376797 males and 340525 females, amongst these 350149 are from Jammu division and 367173 are from Kashmir division.
There are 1910 polling stations across the UT for this phase out of which 781 are in Jammu division and 1129 in Kashmir division, they said.
Out of the 1910 polling stations, 1152 are hyper sensitive, 349 are sensitive and 409 have been categorized as normal. The officials said that voting will start from 7 A.M. to 2 P.M and all arrangements for the phase are in place.
“Extraordinary security arrangements have been put in place,” police said, adding that polling stations have been dominated by the security forces. “Round the clock area domination is also being carried out to keep inimical elements at bay.”
In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure safety of all stakeholders including the voters coming to vote at the polling stations. Sanitizers, thermal scanners and face masks have been arranged at the polling stations to ensure that SOPs issued by the concerned authorities, including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing, are strictly followed at the polling stations.
Special Polling Stations at Women College Gandhinagar, Jammu; and Girls Higher Secondary School Udhampur have been set up to facilitate voting by Kashmiri migrants.