The polling for the second phase of urban local bodies elections in Jammu and Kashmir began on Wednesday amid unprecedented security arrangements put in place for the smooth conduct. The polling which began at 6 am will continue till 4 pm. The second phase will cover a total of 384 wards spanning 13 districts across the state, seven of which are in the Valley, and over 1,000 candidates will participate, said the officials
They said 1,198 nominations were received for these wards and after scrutiny and withdrawal, 1,095 contestants are in the fray for the polls. Out of 1,095 candidates, 65 have won the polls uncontested, including 61 from Kashmir Valley. They said no polling will take place at 56 rpt 56 wards in the Valley as no nomination was received.
No nomination was submitted in all 13 wards of Frisal municipal committee of south Kashmir's Kulgam district, while only one nomination was received for 13 wards of Beerwah municipal committee in central Kashmir's Budgam district, officials said.
Frisal, a part of Kulgam Assembly constituency, is represented by lone CPI(M) legislator M Y Tarigami, while Beerwah is represented in the state Assembly by the former chief minister and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah.
A police official said security arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the polls in all the areas were people would vote, including in the 20 wards of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).
The first phase of polling will be followed by the second phase covering 384 wards on October 10, third phase covering 207 wards on October 13 and the last phase covering 132 wards on October 16. The counting of votes will be done on October 20.
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