J&K Civic Body Polls Live Update: Voting Begins Amid Heavy Security
SRINAGAR: Under a heavy security blanket, Jammu and Kashmir witnesses the first phase of civic polls today – an election made controversial after the two key parties in the Valley, National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party, pulled out. With the central government insistent on the election, voting is taking place in 422 of the state’s 1,100 municipal wards. The list includes 149 seats in the Valley, 26 in Ladakh, Jammu and Pirpanjal region.
As many as 2,990 candidates are in the fray for the four-phase election, which will end on October 16. Voting has began at 7 am and will end at 4 pm. Around 240 candidates have been elected unopposed, majority of them from the Kashmir valley. The BJP has said that it has got control over seven municipal committees in Kashmir Valley as 75 of its nominees have been elected unopposed.
Jammu and Kashmir Urban Local Body Polls LIVE UPDATES:
07:08 am: Voting begins for 422 of the 1,145 wards in the first of the four phases of urban local bodies elections in J&K
06:30 am: Voting for 422 wards in phase 1 to begin at 7 am today
Key things about J&K ULB polls (phase 1):
- Wards going to polls: 422 total; 247 wards in Jammu, 149 in Kashmir and 26 in Ladakh.
- Candidates in fray: 1,283
- Key contending parties: Congress, BJP, NPP
- EVMs: For the first time, electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used in the urban local body polls in the state: Officials
