LIVE: Voting begins in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand amid tight security
Srinagar/Ranchi: Elaborate security
arrangements have been kept in place to ensure free and fair polls in the first phase of Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand elections.
Live updates:
8:00 am: Polling begins in six constituencies of Jammu, five segments in Kashmir and four in
Ladakh.
7:50 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to his micro-blogging site to appeal to the electorate to vote in large numbers.
I particularly call upon my young friends in J&K and Jharkhand to turnout in large numbers & cast their votes.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
November 25, 2014
7:00 am: Polling begins in 13 Maoist-affected constituencies of Jharkhand in the first phase of
five-stage elections to the 81-
member Jharkhand Assembly.
J&K polls 12 sitting MLAs, including seven ministers, are among 123 candidates trying their luck in 15
constituencies. A million voters will get to decide the political fate of 123 candidates who are in the fray The Assembly segments going to polls include Kishtwar, Inderwal, Doda, Bhaderwah, Ramban and Banihal (in Jammu division); Gurez, Bandipora, Sonawari, Kangan and Ganderbal (in
Kashmir), Nobra, Leh, Kargil and Zanskar (in Ladakh).
While the state police and central paramilitary force are deployed directly to provide security to
the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, army has been deployed in strength to provide
an outer secured atmosphere to these elections.
A total of 123 candidates including those from the National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Panthers Party, BJP, Congress, Peoples Conference and independents are in the fray for today's elections.
A total of 1,051,642 voters would exercise franchise tomorrow in the first phase of the five- phased Assembly elections. Polling ends at 4 PM.
Many star campaigners, including Prime MinisternNarendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi campaigned for their party candidates for the first phase of polls.
Jharkhant
A total of 32,59,536 voters will cast their votes in 3,939 polling stations in the first phase.
A total of 1,612 were declared as model polling stations while webcasting will be done from 263 polling stations. Besides, around 1,752 polling stations were declared as super sensitive and 1,104 as sensitive.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Bahujan Samaj Party are
fighting the polls in 12 constituencies each, the Congress in seven and its alliance partner the Rashtriya Janata Dal in six constituencies.
The prominent candidates whose fate will be decided in this phase are state Congress president Sukhdeo Bhagat, Anant Pratap Deo, who switched to the BJP from the Congress, and former minister and Janata Dal-United candidate Sudha Chowdhary.
Polling will continue till 3 PM.
