Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Election 2018 Voting LIVE UPDATES: Security has been intensified across the Valley, with officials maintaining that elaborate arrangements have been made in all the districts. (Express photo/Shuaib Masoodi)
As many as 1,204 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of the urban local bodies elections in Jammu and Kashmir which began on Monday at 7 am amid tight security. After more than a decade, voters in J&K will elect their representatives to the state’s 79 municipal bodies in the four-phased polls.
Eight districts of the Kashmir division, including Leh and Kargil, will vote today to elect representatives to 15 municipal councils and committees, including three wards of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation.
After the National Conference and the PDP announced to boycott the municipal polls, the contest is largely between the Congress, the BJP and a large number of independent candidates. Of the 598 seats in the Valley, at least 236 will be uncontested. Another 184 have received no nominations.
Senior BJP leader and party MLC Sofi Yousuf said that besides the 13 names of party candidates leaked on social media, names of nine BJP candidates, who had filed nominations from Municipal Committee Ashmuqam in Anantnag district, were made public two days ago. “Their contact details, including phone numbers and personal details, were made public…it has created fear among the candidates,” Sofi said. State BJP general secretary Ashok Kaul confirmed that names of 13 party candidates have been leaked. “We have taken up the matter with the administration,” he said.
While the State Election Commission and district election officers vowed to maintain utmost secrecy about details of the candidates, details of 30 contestants for the polls in Dooru Verinag Municipal Committee in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district were released on social media by accounts associated with militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen last week. By Tuesday evening, a video was put out on the Facebook page of one BJP candidate from Dooru Verinag announcing her “resignation from all activities”. Her name was among the 30 candidates on social media. State BJP and Congress leaders later confirmed to The Indian Express that the names put out on social media are indeed those of their candidates. All these candidates were later provided police protection. The list doing the rounds on social media named 17 Congress and 13 BJP candidates. It also named their parents, residence, ward number from which nomination was filed, and the candidates’ respective party.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made across districts. On Sunday, senior police officials had told The Indian Express that while security has already been in place for the polls, checking of vehicles has been further intensified in all districts of the Valley, especially in areas where polling will be held Monday. They said 400 more companies of central forces are also engaged for the polls. “Checkpoints have been set up in all areas, and vehicle (checking) has been intensified. We are taking all measures with regard to security and otherwise to ensure smooth polls,” a J&K Police officer had said. Candidates have been provided security and accommodated at safe areas, officers had said.
The Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik has called for a boycott of the municipal and panchayat polls. To avoid trouble, police have arrested several Hurriyat activists and put prominent leaders, including Mirwaiz, under house arrest. Geelani was already under house arrest, while Malik was recently arrested.
In North Kashmir’s Baramulla, a family is making last-minute appeals to voters as three of its members are contesting for the town’s municipal council. Tauseef Raina, a 27-year-old contesting the Sangri seat, says the campaign has largely been under the radar. His mother, Fareeda Begum and brother Shahid-ul-Islam, are also candidates in an election marked by boycott and palpable fear across the Valley.
Mobile internet services have been suspended in South Kashmir and while the speed has been reduced to 2G in other parts of the valley, ANI reported.
According to news agency ANI, voting is underway in the following districts: Anantnag (four wards), Budgam (one ward), Bandipore (16 wards), Baramulla (15 wards), Jammu (153 wards), Kargil (13 wards), Kupwara (18 wards), Leh (13 wards), Poonch (26 wards), Rajouri (59 wards) and Srinagar (three wards).
Voting for the first of the four phases of the urban local bodies elections in Jammu and Kashmir started at 7 am today. As many as 1,204 candidates are in the fray for this phase which began amid tight security. After more than a decade, voters in the state will elect their representatives to the state’s 79 municipal bodies. Follow our live blog for all latest updates.