Srinagar, Oct 8: Polling in the first phase of four-phase municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir began at 7 am on Monday amid tight security. As many as 2,990 candidates are in the fray for the four-phased urban local bodies (ULB) polls in the state, where nearly 500 over ground workers (OGWs) have been arrested to ensure peaceful polling scheduled to begin next week after a gap of eight years, officials said on Saturday.
Campaigning for the first phase of polling was stopped on Saturday, with no candidates or political parties campaigning in the Valley amid fear.
On October 2, police took Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik into preventive custody. Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani continues to be under house detention.
Meanwhile, Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest ahead of the first phase of local body polls.
People queue outside a polling booth in Gorakh Nagar to cast their votes in the first phase of urban local body elections
Voting for urban local bodies underway at a polling booth in Gandhi Nagar's Ward no. 2, in Jammu district.
Mobile Internet services have been suspended in South Kashmir in the view of the first phase of urban local bodies elections. Mobile Internet speed has been reduced to 2G in other parts of the Kashmir valley.
J&K:Voting begins in districts of Anantnag-4 wards, Budgam-1 ward, Bandipore-16 wards, Baramulla-15, Jammu-153, Kargil-13, Kupwara-18, Leh-13, Poonch-26, Rajouri-59 & Srinagar-3 wards, in the first of the four phases of urban local bodies elections:Visuals from Budgam's Ward no 5 pic.twitter.com/Nfc12xr58n
— ANI (@ANI) October 8, 2018
Voting began in districts of Anantnag-4 wards, Budgam-1 ward, Bandipore-16 wards, Baramulla-15, Jammu-153, Kargil-13, Kupwara-18, Leh-13, Poonch-26, Rajouri-59 & Srinagar-3 wards, in the first of the four phases of urban local bodies elections:Visuals from Budgam's Ward no 5
Voting begins for 422 of the 1,145 wards in the first of the four phases of urban local bodies elections in Jammu And Kashmir.
In the first phase, a total of 1,204 candidates are in the fray for the 321 wards. Today, polling will take place in three municipal corporation wards in Srinagar city, municipal committees of Achabal, Bandipora, Baramulla, Badgam, Chadoora, Devsar, Handwara, Khansahib, Kokernag, Kupwara, Kulgam and Qazigund in Kashmir, Leh and Kargil in the Ladakh region. In the Jammu region, polling will take place for municipal committees of Akhnoor, Arnia, Bishnah, Jurian, Kalakote, Khour, Nowshera, Poonch, RS Pura, Rajouri, Sunderbani, Surankote and Thanamandi. In addition, voting will also be held in wards of Jammu municipal corporation.
According to the election department, around 17 lakh electors are eligible to vote in the four-phases in 1,145 wards across the state. Chief Electoral Officer Shaleen Kabra informed that polling will be held for seven hours between 7 am and 2 pm in all the phases.
Meanwhile, security officials said that elaborate arrangements have been put in place to ensure peaceful conduct of the elections.
While the first phase of polls is being held on Monday, the second phase will be conducted on Wednesday, third phase on October 13 and last phase on October 16. The counting of votes will be done on October 20.
Notably, this is the first elections in 13 years when voters in the state would be able to elect their representatives for J&K's municipal bodies. However, many voters were said to be "clueless" about who their candidates were or where the nearest polling booth was, reports suggested.