While separatists have called for a boycott of the polls, militants have threatened to target anyone taking part in these elections.
The polling for first phase of panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir took place on Saturday. An official said 427 candidates are in the fray for 536 Sarpanch Halqas and 5,951 candidates for 4,048 Panch wards for the first phase of the Panchayat polls. The polling was held in six districts of the Kashmir Valley, two in Ladakh and seven districts in the Jammu region.
While the panchayat polls are being conducted on the non-party basis, the NC, PDP and the CPI(M) have announced to stay away from the electoral exercise due to the legal challenge to Article 35-A of the Constitution in the Supreme Court.
The NC and the PDP have asked the Centre to make its stand clear in the apex court on the constitutional provision and urged it to defend its continuation in the court. They had also boycotted the municipal polls which were conducted last month. While separatists called for a boycott of the polls, militants threatened to target anyone taking part in these elections.
HIGHLIGHTS OF J-K PANCHAYAT POLLS:
08:15 pm: Jammu records 79.5% voter turnout, Kashmir 64.5% in first phase of polls
06:00 pm: 66.46 per cent voting recorded in 5 blocks of Kupwara district till 2 pm, according to media reports
12:10 pm: Normal life was affected in Kashmir Valley Saturday due to a strike called by separatists in protest against the conduct of the first phase of panchayat polls in the state. Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut in Srinagar -– the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
They said public transport was off the roads while private cars, cabs and auto-rickshaws were plying in many areas of the city. The officials said similar reports of shutdown were received from other district headquarters of the valley.
Security forces were deployed in strength in sensitive places across the valley to maintain law and order, they said.
Separatist leaders, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), had asked people to observe strike to protest against the "election drama". The JRL, comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, have also asked people to observe shutdown in poll-bound areas of the valley on the days of polling in the eight-phase panchayat elections.
11:55 am: 18.5% voter turnout recorded till 11 am in the first phase of Panchayat polls in Jammu & Kashmir. Polling is underway in Srinagar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Handwara, Bandipora, Sopore, Leh and Kargil districts.
11:22 am: Moderate polling was witnessed in the early hours of the first phase of panchayat election in Kashmir Valley on Saturday as nearly nine per cent of voters exercised their franchise till 10 AM.
"A total of 8.9 per cent of the electorate cast their votes at 283 polling locations across the valley till 10 AM," an official said.
They said 12,104 votes were polled in the first two hours of the poll conducted in 16 blocks in six districts of the valley.
The officials said the total number of electorate in these polling stations is 1,35,774.
In 10 blocks of Ladakh region having 130 polling locations, the officials said 1,001 votes were polled in the first two hours.
The total electorate in these polling stations is 25,906 and the voting percentage till 10 AM is 3.9 per cent.
The total voting percentage in Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, at 10 AM is 8.1 per cent, the officials said.
11:00 am: Voting underway in Uri and Srinagar's Balhama. Polling will be held in six districts of the Kashmir Valley, two in Ladakh and seven districts in the Jammu region.
09:40 am: The officials said that in the first phase polling, 85 sarpanch and 1,676 panch have been elected unopposed while voting is taking place on the remaining 420 sarpanch and 1,845 panch seats, for which 5,585 candidates are in the fray. They said there are 4,45,059 electors for sarpanch seats and 2,72,792 for panch constituencies.
09:30 am: Officials say that 687 polling stations have been categorized as "hypersensitive", including 491 in Kashmir division and 196 in Jammu division. All necessary arrangements are in place for the smooth conduct of the polls, the officials said, adding massive security arrangements, including deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), have been made to ensure peaceful election. The government has declared holiday on the day of poll in the panchayat areas where polls are taking.
08:05 am: Voting begins for the first phase of Panchayat polls in Jammu & Kashmir. The elections will be held in nine phases across the state.
08:03 am: Preparations underway at a polling station in Rajouri’s Manjakote for the first phase of voting for Panchayat polls. Dr RK Manahas, returning officer says, ”There is enthusiasm among the voters. We are fully prepared, we are hopeful that voting will be conducted peacefully.”
08:00 am: Polling for the first phase of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Poll begins. The panchayat polls will be held in nine phases. Counting of votes will take place on the day of polling. Votes will be cast using ballot paper.
07:40 am: All arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the polls and polling staff has been deputed to the respective polling stations, said an official.
The officials said 170 candidates are in the fray for 64 Sarpanch Halqas and 762 for 498 Panch wards in Kupwara district, while 21 candidates for 20 Sarpanch Halqas and 81 for 146 Panch wards in Bandipora district.
In Baramulla district, 148 candidates are in the fray for 63 Sarpanch Halqas and 630 for 497 Panch wards.
Eleven candidates for 15 Sarpanch Halqas and 21 for 105 Panch wards in Ganderbal district, six candidates for five Sarpanch Halqas and nine for 45 Panch wards in Srinagar and 35 candidates for 26 Sarpanch Halqas and 124 for 222 Panch wards in Budgam district are contesting the polls in the first phase.
In Kargil, 51 candidates for 23 Sarpanch Halqas and 225 for 179 Panch wards, while in Leh, 64 candidates for 32 Sarpanch Halqas and 207 for 226 Panch wards are in the fray, the officials said.
In Kishtwar district, 107 candidates for 50 Sarpanch Halqas and 494 for 358 Panch wards are in the fray, the officials said, adding that 190 candidates for 52 Sarpanch Halqas and 626 for 364 Panch wards are in the fray in Doda district.
The officials said 89 candidates for 27 Sarpanch Halqas and 337 for 195 Panch wards in Ramban district and 162 candidates for 42 Sarpanch Halqas and 779 for 332 Panch wards in Udhampur district are contesting the polls.
In Kathua district, 114 candidates are in the fray for 29 Sarpanch Halqas and 450 for 209 Panch wards, while 121 candidates for 35 Sarpanch Halqas and 469 for 253 Panch wards in Rajouri district.
The officials said 162 candidates for 53 Sarpanch Halqas and 736 for 419 Panch wards in Poonch district are contesting the polls.
