More than 2.5 million voters will head to the polls on Wednesday to decide the fate of 239 candidates contesting 26 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir as the second phase of the Union Territory’s elections takes place.
The 26 constituencies are spread across six districts, with three in the Kashmir Valley and three in the Jammu division. To ensure smooth and efficient voting, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has established 3,502 polling stations, with 1,056 in urban areas and 2,446 in rural regions. All polling stations will have webcasting facilities to promote transparency, according to officials.
In an effort to boost voter participation, 157 special polling stations have been set up for this phase. These include 26 ‘pink polling stations’ managed by women, 26 stations manned by specially-abled individuals, 26 youth-managed stations, 31 border polling stations, 26 green polling stations, and 22 unique polling stations. Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Several prominent candidates are in the fray for this phase, including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, JKPCC president Tariq Hamid Karra, and BJP Jammu and Kashmir chief Ravinder Raina. Abdullah is contesting from both the Ganderbal and Budgam seats, while Karra is running from Central Shalteng, and Raina is aiming to retain his Nowshera seat in Rajouri district, which he previously won in the 2014 assembly elections.
The second phase is also notable for the participation of jailed separatist leader Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, alias Barkati, who is contesting from the Beerwah and Ganderbal segments. Barkati hopes to replicate the success of Sheikh Abdul Rashid (popularly known as Rashid Engineer), who, despite contesting from jail earlier this year, defeated Abdullah in the Baramulla parliamentary seat by a margin of over 200,000 votes.
Other key candidates 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). Zulfikar Ali and Mushtaq Bukhari are contesting on BJP tickets.
In the first phase of polling, held on September 18, an estimated 61.38% of voters cast their ballots. The final phase of voting will take place on October 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for October 8.
Of the candidates contesting in this phase, 93 are running in Srinagar district, 46 in Budgam, 34 in Rajouri, 25 in Poonch, 21 in Ganderbal, and 20 in Reasi.
The constituencies in Srinagar district include Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habbakadal, Lal Chowk, Channapora, Zadibal, Central Shalteng, and Eidgah. In Budgam, polling will take place in Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib, Chrar-i-Sharief, and Chadoora. In Ganderbal, voters will cast their ballots in Kangan (ST) and Ganderbal constituencies.
In the Jammu division, the constituencies include Gulabgarh (ST), Reasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (in Reasi district), Kalakote-Sunderbani, Nowshera, Rajouri (ST), Budhal (ST), Thannamandi (ST), Surankote (ST), Poonch Haveli, and Mendhar (ST).
