7,000 in fray for Phase 6 of rural poll

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 30

The voting for the sixth phase of nine-phase panchayat poll will be held on Saturday to decide the fate of over 7,000 candidates for around 2,700 sarpanch and panch seats in Jammu and Kashmir.

A total of 3,174 polling stations including 410 in Kashmir division and 2764 in Jammu division have been set up for sixth phase polling which will take place from 8 am to 2 pm.

According to Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, Shaleen Kabra, 771 polling stations had been categorised as hypersensitive, including 410 in the Kashmir division and 361 in the Jammu division. He said 7,156 candidates were in the fray for 406 sarpanch and 2,277 panch seats in Phase 6 while 111 sarpanchs and 1,048 panchs had been elected unopposed in the phase.

He said in the areas going to the polls in this phase, 5,97,396 electors would be voting for sarpanch constituencies and 4,57,581 for panch constituencies.

A total of 18 districts, including four in terror-hit south Kashmir, will witness polling in the sixth phase.

Kabra said the state witnessed a polling percentage of 71.1, including 33.7 in the Kashmir division and 85.2 in the Jammu division, in the fifth phase of polling on November 29.

In Poonch district, he said, repoll for the sarpanch seat in Sanai Panch halqa of Surankote block witnessed a turnout of 79.78 per cent and deferred polling in Nonabandi panchayat halqa witnessed a turnout of 92.23 per cent.

He said in the Phase 4, the state witnessed a polling percentage of 71.3, including 82.4 in the Jammu division and 32.3 in the Kashmir division.

In Phase 3, the state witnessed a polling percentage of 75.2 which includes 55.7 in the Kashmir division and 83 in the Jammu division.

In the Phase 2, overall 71.1 percent polling was witnessed across the state with an overwhelming 80.4 per cent polling in the Jammu division and 52.2 per cent in the Kashmir division.

Similarly, in the Phase 1, 74.1 per cent polling was recorded across J&K, including 64.5 per cent in the Kashmir division and 79.4 per cent in the Jammu division.

All necessary security arrangements have been made, including the deployment of the Central Armed Police Forces.