Srinagar: The campaigning for the third and final phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election concluded on Sunday evening, with major political parties, particularly the BJP, Congress, NC and PDP, engaging in fierce exchanges over critical issues, including Pakistan, Article 370, terrorism and reservation.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 Assembly segments across seven districts – Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir – is scheduled for October 1.
The electoral fate of 415 candidates, including former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand (Congress) and Muzaffar Beig, are at stake in this phase.
More than 39.18 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their electoral franchise during the last Phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Election across the 40 Assembly Constituencies (Acs) in 7 districts of the Union Territory, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Pandurang K Pole said.
In Kashmir Division, 16 Assembly Constituencies including Karnah, Tregham, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara, Langate, Sopore, Rafiabad, Uri, Baramulla, Gulmarg, Wagoora-Kreeri, Pattan, Sonawari, Bandipora, Gurez (ST) and in Jammu Division 24 Assembly Constituencies comprising Udhampur west, Udhampur east, Chenni, Ramnagar (SC), Bani, Billawar, Basohli, Jasrota, Kathua( SC), Hiranagar, Ramgarh(SC), Samba, Vijaypur, Bishnah(SC), Suchetgarh(SC), R.S Pura, Jammu South, Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Akhnoor(SC), Chhamb will also go to the polls in this phase.
In this phase, there are 5060 Polling stations across 7 districts will be established and in total, more than 20,000 Polling staff will be deployed.
The total number of voters is 39,18,220 out of them, there are 20,09,033 male voters; 19,09,130 female voters and 57 third gender voters. As many as 1.94 lakh youth between the age 18-19 years, along with 35,860 Person with Disabilities (PwDs) and 32,953 elderly voters above the age of 85 are also eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase.
The voting will take place from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm and before that there will be mock poll in the polling stations in presence of the polling agents. Also, the voting will continue even after 6.00 pm, if voter’s queue is still there in the Polling Station premises to exercise their right to vote.
It may be mentioned here that the voter turnout was robust in the earlier phases, with 61.38 percent participation recorded in the first phase on September 18 and 57.31 percent in the second phase on September 26.
This is the first Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019, with the results set to be announced on October 8.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spearheaded the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) campaign while as senior BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and party president J P Nadda, have actively campaigned in favour of party candidates.
Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have also campaigned vigorously.
The NC and the PDP, led by former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, have also intensified their outreach efforts while as Sajad Lone’s PC had an intense campaigning in entire Kupwara district besides Pattan in Baramulla district.
According to election officials, all necessary arrangements, including security measures, are in place, ensuring a secure environment for the voters.
The campaigning period, characterised by a political frenzy involving numerous candidates, including independents, concluded peacefully at 6 pm, marking the start of the mandatory 48-hour silent period before polling.
In the final phase, Jammu district has the highest number of candidates at 109, followed by Baramulla (101), Kupwara (59), Bandipora (42), Udhampur (37), Kathua (35) and Samba (32).
While the NC and the Congress are contesting the election in an alliance, their top leaders have largely campaigned separately for this phase. Rahul Gandhi addressed rallies in Jammu city and Sopore, a region previously known for separatism and insurgency.
Emerging regional players, such as People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone and Awami Ittehad Party chief Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, have also been active in the campaign. Rashid’s party has fielded his brother Khursheed Ahmad from Langate while Lone’s party is contesting two seats.
As the political landscape evolves, the entry of Jamaat-e-Islami-backed candidates in some north Kashmir constituencies adds another layer of complexity to this competitive electoral battle. (With inputs from PTI)
