24 September,2024 12:49 PM IST | Srinagar | mid-day online correspondent
Representative Image/ PTI
Over 2.5 million voters in Jammu and Kashmir will vote on Wednesday to decide the destiny of 239 candidates running for 26 assembly seats in the second phase of the elections. These constituencies are divided across six districts: three in the Kashmir Valley and three in the Jammu Division.
The Election Commission of India has established 3,502 polling stations, including 1,056 in urban areas and 2,446 in rural areas. Webcasting services will be accessible at all polling sites to enhance transparency, reported PTI.
"To enhance voter participation, 157 special polling stations have been established for the second phase - 26 'pink polling stations' managed by women, 26 polling stations manned by specially abled persons, 26 polling stations manned by youths, 31 border polling stations, 26 green polling stations and 22 unique polling stations," the official told the news agency.
Voting will take place from 7 am to 6 pm.
According to the report, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, JKPCC President Tariq Hamid Karra, and BJP J-K chairman Ravinder Raina are among the leading candidates in this phase. Abdullah is running for Ganderbal and Budgam, while Karra for Central Shalteng. Raina is running for re-election in Rajouri for Nowshera.
Separatist leader Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, commonly known as Barkati, is running in Beerwah and Ganderbal. Barkati is seeking to duplicate Engineer Rashid's Lok Sabha election victory over the National Conference.
Other noteworthy candidates include Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari, former ministers Ali Mohammad Sagar, Abdul Rahim Rather, and Choudhary Zulfikar Ali, as well as Syed Mushtaq Bukhari, who is running for the BJP, the PTI report stated.
The first phase of voting, held on September 18, saw 61.38 per cent of the electorate cast their votes. The third phase of elections is slated for October 1, with ballots counting scheduled for on October 8.
More than 13,000 polling officials took positions on Tuesday at 3,500 polling stations set up across Jammu and Kashmir's 26 assembly constituencies, where voting would take place on Wednesday in the union territory's second phase elections, the PTI report stated.
According to the news agency report, the security forces, which included police, armed police, and central armed paramilitary forces, left for the voting sites early in the morning, according to officials.
They stated that a multi-tier security blanket has been draped around each polling location to ensure that the second phase of voting takes place in a fearless environment, the news agency report added.
