Early Times Report
Jammu, Sept 17: Although a total of 219 candidates are in the fray for 24 assembly segments going for polls on Wednesday, the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (PDP) stakes are very high in the first phase of elections.
For the first phase of elections, polling will be held on 16 assembly constituencies of south Kashmir, which were considered citadels of the PDP as the party used to get its political support from these assembly segments.
More importantly, PDP has fielded Itlija Mufti, daughter of party president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, from the Srigufwara – Bijbehara seat, which is a citadel of the Mufti family.
Iltija Mufti is fighting the first electoral battle of her brief political career and Wednesday’s polling will decide her faith.
Wednesday’s polling not only decide the political future of Iltija Mufti but also will be a deciding factor in making the PDP a force in the political scenario of Jammu and Kashmir.
In south Kashmir 16 Assembly Constituencies comprising Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara – Bijbehara, Shangus – Anantnag East and Pahalgam will go for polling on Wednesday.
In Jammu Division, eight assembly constituencies comprising Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder – Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban, and Banihal are scheduled to go to polls in the first phase of the electoral process.
Wednesday’s election will also decide the fate of Congress stalwart and AICC national general secretary Ghulam Ahmed Mir, who is contesting the election from South Kashmir’s Dooru Assembly segment.
BJP’s emerging leader and former minister Sunil Sharma’s future is also at stake in Wednesday’s elections. Sharma is contesting the election on the newly carved Padder-Nagsani seat of Kishtwar district.
In the first phase, 24 assembly segments both in Jammu and Kashmir will go to the polls on September 18. This will be the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The last assembly election in J&K was held in 2014.
As reported earlier, election personnel have been dispatched to 3,276 polling stations across seven districts, including Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Doda, Ramban, and Kishtwar.
Out of the 3,276 polling stations, 302 are in urban areas, while 2,974 are located in rural regions. Each polling station will have four staff members, including a Presiding Officer. In total, more than 14,000 polling personnel will be deployed to manage the voting process. |
