Voter queues seen at polling stations for third & final phase of J&K election today

Srinagar/Jammu: Voting started at all the 5,060 polling stations in 40 Assembly constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Tuesday as bright autumn sun greeted voters when they started pouring out to exercise their democratic right.

Voters were seen wearing woollens at most places in Baramulla and Kupwara districts of the Valley while in Jammu, Kathua, Samba and Udhampur districts of Jammu division, voters still wore summer attire.

Men started building queues at the polling stations in Pattan, Sangrama, Kreeri, Tangmarg, Kunzar, Uri town and other places in the Valley while voters wearing traditional Dogri dresses came out in a festive mood in Kathua, samba, Udhampur, R.S. Pura and other polling stations in Jammu division.

Enthusiasm was unmatched among the voters in areas close to the International Border in Samba, Kathua and Jammu district.

Voters exchanged greetings with the security forces guarding the polling stations as special arrangements were made for the sick and infirm voters to exercise their democratic right.

In the third and final phase of J&K Assembly elections, 39.18 lakh voters will decide the political fate of 415 candidates in 40 Assembly constituencies going to vote on Tuesday.

Voting is taking place in 40 Assembly constituencies in Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Udhampur districts of Jammu division and in Baramulla and Kupwara districts of the Valley.

The Jammu district has 11, Samba three, Kathua six and Udhampur four Assembly constituencies while Baramulla and Kupwara districts have 16 constituencies for which voting is underway now.

The Election Commission has set up 5,030 polling stations for voters for the third phase of polling.

Special polling stations have been set up for Kashmiri migrant voters. Of these 11 are in Jammu, four in Delhi and one in Udhampur district.

Police officials said that adequate number of security personnel drawn from the CRPF and the J&K Police has been deployed for smooth polling on Tuesday.

Area domination around polling stations, securing to and fro passage of poll staff and the general public on the roads and highways was done on Monday and deployments moved out with the first light on Tuesday to secure passage of sector officers, poll observers, candidates and other officials connected with the poll process.

Polling started at 7 a.m. and will end at 6 p.m. while counting of votes will be taken up on October 8.

–IANS