Srinagar, Sep 24: The stage is set for the second phase of polling on Wednesday.
Twenty-six constituencies are going to polls on September 25. The constituencies voting on Wednesday are spread over six districts – three in the Valley and three in the Jammu division.
Over 25.78 lakh voters will decide the fate of 239 candidates in the second phase of elections to the Legislative Assembly on September 25.
The second phase will cover 26 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) across six districts of Jammu & Kashmir, including Ganderbal, Srinagar, and Budgam in Kashmir Division, Reasi, Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu Division.
In Kashmir Division 15 ACs are up for election; 17-Kangan (ST); 18-Ganderbal; 19-Hazratbal; 20-Khanyar; 21-Habbakadal; 22-Lal Chowk; 23-Channapora; 24-Zadibal; 25-Eidgah; 26-Central Shalteng; 27-Budgam; 28-Beerwah; 29-Khansahib; 30-Chrar-I-Sharief and 31-Chadoora, while as in Jammu Division 11 Assembly Constituencies, 56-Gulabgarh (ST); 57-Reasi; 58-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi; 83-Kalakote- Sunderbani; 84-Nowshera; 85-Rajouri (ST); 86-Budhal (ST); 87- Thannamandi (ST); 88-Surankote (ST); 89-Poonch Haveli and 90-Mendhar (ST) will go for polls in this phase.
According to the latest electoral rolls, 25,78,099 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballot in this phase, comprising 13,12,730 lakh male voters, 12,65,316 lakh female voters, and 53 third-gender voters.
Underlining the significance of the role played by the youth of Jammu and Kashmir in strengthening democracy, as many as 1,20,612 lakh voters aged 18 to 19 are eligible to vote in phase II of the Assembly Elections. Among these, 11,294 are male and 10,065 are female first-time voters.
This phase will also see participation from 19,201 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) voters and 20,880 voters above the age of 85.
During this phase, 93 candidates are in the fray in Srinagar district, followed by 46 in Budgam district, 34 in Rajouri district, 25 in Poonch district, 21 in Ganderbal district, and 20 candidates are contesting in Reasi district.
In the Reasi district, 6 candidates are in the fray in Gulabgarh (ST) AC; 7 candidates in Reasi AC; while 7 candidates are contesting in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi AC.
In Rajouri district, 11 are in the fray Kalakote -Sunderbani AC; 5 candidates in Nowshera AC; 8 candidates in Rajouri (ST) AC; 4 candidates in Budhal (ST) AC, while 6 candidates are contesting in Thannamandi (ST) AC.
In Poonch district, 8 candidates are in the fray in Surankote (ST) AC; 8 candidates in Poonch Haveli AC; while 9 candidates are contesting in Mendhar (ST) AC.
Similarly, in the Ganderbal district, 6 candidates are fray in Kangan (ST) AC and 15 candidates are contesting in Ganderbal AC.
In Srinagar district, 13 candidates are in the fray in Hazratbal AC; 10 candidates in Khanyar AC; 16 candidates in Habbakadal AC; 10 candidates in 22-Lal Chowk AC; 8 candidates in 23-Channapora AC; 10 candidates in 24-Zadibal AC; 13 candidates in 25-Eidgah AC; while 13 candidates are contesting in 26-Central Shalteng AC.
Finally, in Budgam district, 8 candidates are in the fray in 27-Budgam AC; 12 candidates in 28-Beerwah AC; 10 candidates in 29-Khansahib AC; 10 candidates in 30-Chrar-I-Sharief AC; while 6 candidates are contesting in 31-Chadoora AC.
Over 2.5 million voters will seal the fate of 239 candidates in the fray. “To facilitate smooth and hassle-free electoral participation, the Election Commission of India has established 3,502 polling stations in these segments. There are 1,056 urban polling stations and 2,446 rural polling stations,” an official said.
Among the prominent candidates in the fray are National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah, JKPCC president Tariq Hamid Karra, and BJP J&K chief Ravinder Raina.
Omar Abdullah, who was initially reluctant about contesting the polls, is now fighting from the Ganderbal and Budgam seats. Karra is contesting from Central Shalteng while Raina is looking to retain his Nowshera seat in the Rajouri district which he won in the 2014 assembly polls.
Ganderbal is set to witness a high-voltage clash since jailed separatist leader Sarjan Ahmad Wagay will take on Abdullah in the constituency. Wagay is hoping to pull off an upset, similar to Engineer Rashid’s victory over Abdullah in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Baramullah. Barkati is contesting from the Beerwah and Ganderbal segments.
Other key candidates in this phase are Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari (Channapora), former ministers Ali Mohammad Sagar (Khanyar), Abdul Rahim Rather (Chrar-i-Sharief), and Choudhary Zulfikar Ali (Budhal) and Syed Mushtaq Bukhari (Surankote).
Choudhary Zulfikar Ali and Syed Mushtaq Bukhari are contesting on BJP tickets this time.
In the first phase of polling, held on September 18, an estimated 61.38 percent of the electorate cast their ballots. The third and final phase will be held on October 1. The votes will be counted on October 8.
During this phase, 93 candidates are in the fray in Srinagar district, followed by 46 in Budgam district, 34 in Rajouri district, 25 in Poonch district, 21 in Ganderbal district, and 20 in Reasi district.
The constituencies in the Srinagar district are Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habbakadal, Lal Chowk, Channapora, Zadibal, Central Shalteng, and Eidgah.
The segments in Budgam district are Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib, Chrar-I-Sharief, and Chadoora while there are two constituencies in Ganderbal district — Kangan (ST) and Ganderbal.
The seats going to polls in Jammu division are Gulabgarh (ST), Reasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (in Reasi district), Kalakote-Sunderbani, Nowshera, Rajouri (ST) (in Rajouri district), Budhal (ST), Thannamandi (ST), Surankote (ST), Poonch Haveli and Mendhar (ST) (Poonch district).
