New Delhi: Former chief minister Omar Abdullah, Congress unit chief Tariq Hamid Karra and BJP’s Ravinder Raina are the key candidates in the fray as voting for the second phase began in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections today.
Over 2.5 million voters will determine the outcome for 239 candidates contesting 26 assembly seats in the second phase of elections in Jammu and Kashmir. These constituencies are distributed across six districts, three located in the Valley and three in the Jammu division.
According to the Election Commission, polling is being held at 3,502 stations, of which 1,056 are urban and 2,446 rural polling stations. The facility of webcasting is available at all these stations to allow transparency in the electoral process.
To boost voter participation in the second phase, 157 special polling stations have been set up, including 26 ‘pink polling stations’ run by women, 26 stations managed by specially-abled individuals, 26 operated by youths, 31 located near the border, 26 designated as green polling stations, and 22 unique polling stations.
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election: Key candidates in Phase 2
Omar Abdullah is contesting from the Ganderbal and Budgam seats, while Karra is running from Central Shalteng. Raina, meanwhile, is aiming to retain his Nowshera seat in Rajouri district, which he won in the 2014 assembly elections.
The second phase will be closely watched as jailed separatist leader Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, also known as Barkati, hopes to replicate Engineer Rashid’s success in the Lok Sabha polls against the National Conference leader. Barkati is contesting from both the Beerwah and Ganderbal constituencies.
Sheikh Abdul Rashid, widely known as Rashid Engineer, ran in the parliamentary elections earlier this year from Tihar jail and defeated Abdullah by over two lakh votes in the Baramulla constituency.
Other key candidates in the second phase of the assembly polls include Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari (Channapora), former ministers Ali Mohammad Sagar (Khanyar), Abdul Rahim Rather (Chrar-i-Sharief), Choudhary Zulfikar Ali (Budhal), and Syed Mushtaq Bukhari (Surankote). Choudhary Zulfikar Ali and Syed Mushtaq Bukhari are contesting on BJP tickets in this election.
An estimated 61.38 per cent of voters turned out in the first phase of polling on September 18. The third phase is scheduled for October 1, with the vote counting set to take place on October 8.
PM Modi’s appeal to voters
As the voting for phase 2 began at 7 am, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the voters to exercise their franchise in strengthening democracy. He also congratulated the young population in Jammu and Kashmir who are voting for the first time.
“Today is the second phase of voting for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. I appeal to all voters to cast their votes and play their important role in strengthening democracy. On this occasion, I congratulate all the young friends who are going to vote for the first time!” he wrote in a post on X.
जम्मू-कश्मीर में आज विधानसभा चुनाव के दूसरे दौर की वोटिंग है। सभी वोटर्स से मेरी अपील है कि वे अपना वोट जरूर दें और लोकतंत्र को मजबूत बनाने में अपनी अहम भूमिका निभाएं। इस अवसर पर पहली बार वोट डालने जा रहे सभी युवा साथियों को मेरा अभिनंदन!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 25, 2024
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