J&K set for final phase of polls, over 39 lakh voters to decide fate of 415 in fray

Srinagar/Jammu, 30 : Jammu and Kashmir is set for the third and final phase of Assembly elections on Tuesday, with 39.18 lakh voters eligible to decide the political fate of 415 candidates in 40 constituencies spread from the plains of Jammu to the mountains of Kashmir.

Voting is scheduled in the 40 Assembly constituencies in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, and Udhampur districts of the Jammu division, and in the Baramulla and Kupwara districts of the Valley.

The Jammu district has 11, Samba three, Kathua six, and Udhampur four Assembly constituencies while Baramulla has seven, Bandipora three, and Kupwara district has six seats.

The Election Commission has set up 5,030 polling stations for voters for the third phase. Special polling stations have also been set up for Kashmiri migrant voters. Of these, 11 are in Jammu, 4 in Delhi, and one in Udhampur district.

EC officials said that all the polling staff with polling material like EVMs, electoral rolls etc have already moved to their respective destinations. Some of the polling stations in the Baramulla and Kupwara districts are located close to the Line of Control (LoC).

Police officials said that an adequate number of security personnel drawn from the CRPF and J&K Police have already reached various polling stations to secure these for the poll staff and the voters.

"Area domination around different polling stations, securing the to and fro passage of poll staff and the general public on the roads and highways has also been ensured due to extraordinary security arrangements in Jammu and the Valley," a senior police officer said.

The officer added that foolproof security is in place throughout J&K, especially in the districts going to vote on Tuesday so that the terrorists and their sympathisers are prevented from interfering with the poll process.

Given the high-pitch campaign done by various political parties and the contesting candidates, it looks likely that a large number of voters will turn out to vote on Tuesday.

The first two rounds of elections were held on September 18 and 25 and counting of votes will be taken up on October 8.