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Jammu & Kashmir election: Stage set for Phase 3 of polls; high security for final showdown between BJP, Cong-NC, PDP
The third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will commence on Tuesday morning, with voting to take place for 40 seats.
The third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections 2024 is set to take place on Tuesday, October 1, with voters ready to exercise their franchise across 40 assembly seats.
The campaigning for the final phase of the polls ended on Sunday evening, and security forces have been deployed across the union territory to maintain the law and order situation during the voting period.
Of the 40 constituencies, 24 fall under the Jammu division and the remaining in Kashmir. The high-stakes final phase of the election in the union territory will witness over 3.9 million people casting their votes on Tuesday.
While the National Conference and the Congress are fighting the elections in an alliance, the People's Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the two other major players.
The security detail across all poll-bound assembly seats remains tight, with Central Armed Police Forces (CRPF) and Quick Response Teams (QRTs) deployed in previously terror-struck areas of Udhampur, Baramulla, Kathua and Kupwara.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Jammu zone, Anand Jain, said adequate security arrangements have been put in place in the poll-bound areas to ensure "terror-free and peaceful" polling.
Jammu and Kashmir polls Phase 2: Voting time, details
Over 3.9 million voters will exercise their franchise in the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections across 40 seats - 24 in Jammu region and 16 in Kashmir valley. Voting will commence at 7 am on Tuesday morning, and will likely end at 7 pm across 5,060 polling stations set up by the Election Commission of India.
In Jammu division, Jammu district accounts for the highest number of 11 segments (Bishnah-SC, Suchetgarh-SC, R S Pura, Jammu South, Bahu, Jammu East, Nagrota, Jammu West, Jammu North, Akhnoor-SC and Chhamb), followed by six seats in Kathua district (Bani, Billawar, Basohli, Jasrota, Kathua-SC and Hiranagar), four in Udhampur district (Udhampur West, Udhampur East, Chenni and Ramnagar-SC) and three in Samba (Ramgarh-SC, Samba and Vijaypur).
Read more: HT interview: J&K polls may throw a hung House, says Sajad Lone
Similarly in Kashmir division, 16 assembly constituencies including Karnah, Tregham, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara and Langate fall in Kupwara district, Sopore, Rafiabad, Uri, Baramulla, Gulmarg, Wagoora-Kreeri and Pattan in Baramulla district and Sonawari, Bandipora, Gurez (ST) in Bandipora district.
Key candidates in fray
The most prominent candidates in fray in Phase 3 of J-K polls are People's Conference chairman and former minister Sajjad Lone and National Panthers Party India president Dev Singh. While Lone is fighting on two seats from Kupwara, Singh is contesting from Chenani seat of Udhampur.
Other prominent candidates include former Jammu and Kashmir ministers Raman Bhalla (R S Pura), Usman Majid (Bandipora), Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurez), Taj Mohiuddin (Uri), Basharat Bukhari (Wagoora-Kreeri), Imran Ansari (Pattan), Ghulam Hassan Mir (Gulmarg), and Choudhary Lal Singh (Basohli).
One of the key highlights and probable deciding factor in the polls will be the participation of Pakistani refugees, Valmiki Samaj and Gorkha community, who got voting rights in the union territory after the abrogation of Article.
The exit polls for the Jammu and Kashmir elections will take place on October 5, and the counting of the votes will be done on October 8.
(With inputs from PTI)
