In the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the sixth phase of District Development Council (DDC) elections, the first ever democratic exercise after the abrogation of Article 370 last year, is being conducted across 31 constituencies amid high security.
Simultaneously, the voting is also being held on 334 panch and 77 sarpanch seats. The counting of votes in the DDC elections is slated on December 22.
State Election Commissioner K.K Sharma has said that all necessary arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful poling besides special emphasis have been made to keep the voters safe from COVID-19.
Over 7.48 lakh voters will decide the fate of 245 candidates, including 100 women contestants in this phase of DDC polls. The eight-phased maiden DDC elections commenced on November 28 and so far, voters in 190 constituencies, out of total 280 across 20 districts, have registered their choice.
While the first phase on November 28 recorded the highest 51.76 per cent polling, the subsequent phases on December 1, 4, 7 and 10 witnessed 48.62 per cent, 50.53 per cent, 50.08 per cent and 51.20 per cent polling, respectively.
In the sixth phase of polling on Sunday, Sharma said the voting would be conducted in 31 constituencies, including 17 in Jammu division and 14 in Kashmir Valley, from 7 am to 2 pm.
“A total of 245 candidates –- 145 male and 100 female — are in fray, including 124 from Kashmir division and 121 from Jammu division, for DDC elections in this phase,” Sharma told reporters.
He said a total of 7,48,301 electorate, including 3,57,869 women are eligible to vote in this phase, for which 2,071 polling stations with 1,208 in Kashmir division and 863 in Jammu province have been set up.
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