LIVE: Polling for third phase begins in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand amid tight security
Ranchi/Srinagar: Polling began on Tuesday in Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir in the third leg of the five-phase Assembly elections.
Jharkhand In this phase, 289 candidates, including 26 females, are in the fray for 17 of the total 81
assembly constituencies.
In the third phase, the electoral fate of 289 candidates will be decided by 50,16,657 voters, including 23,55,728 female.
Marandi, who became the first chief minister of the state after resigning from the erstwhile Atal Bihari Vajpayee council of ministers on
November 15, 2000, is locked in a tight contest at Dhanwar constituency which was won by his
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) candidate Nizzamudin Ansari in the 2009 Assembly elections.
Ansari filed nomination on a JMM ticket but his papers were invalid following his conviction in a murder case.
Eight MLAs are seeking re-elections in this phase, having 103 independent candidates out of a total of 289, including 26 women.
The constituencies going to the poll are: Kodarma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribagh, Simaria (SC), Dhanwar,
Gomia, Bermo, Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia and Kanke (SC).
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and three of his cabinet colleagues are among 144 candidates whose fate will be decided today in the third phase of polling in 16 seats spread across Budgam, Pulwama and Baramulla districts.
Unprecedented security arrangements have been made as voting is taking place in the shadow of terror attacks from across the border that left 21 people dead in the Valley December 5.
All eyes will be on Uri and Tral constituencies, which were hit by militant violence ahead of the polls.
The first two phases of elections in the state saw a record turnout of over 70 percent, with voters ignoring boycott calls by separatists and militant outfits.
The stakes are high for Peoples Democratic Party as it held nine of the sixteen Assembly constituencies which have an electorate of 13.69
lakh electors, including 6.51 lakh women.
A total of 144 candidates are in the fray including the Chief Minister, three of his cabinet colleagues and 10 other sitting MLAs. 1,781 polling stations have been set up in the area.
Omar, who chose to contest from Beerwah in Budgam instead of his family bastion of Ganderbal, hopes that some of the recent steps
taken by his government for the area will help him sail through the electoral tide from a constituency which was won by PDP candidates
in the last two elections.
A security force officer said: "500 companies of central security forces have deployed for tomorrow's (Tuesday) polls in addition to the
existing ones drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force and police."
Four constituencies of Pulwama district, five of Badgam district and seven of Baramulla district
are going to the polls in the third phase. A total of 138 candidates, including Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah, are in the fray.
Webcasting, videography, flying squads and appointments of macro and micro observers are some of the measures taken by the election
commission to ensure free and fair poll.
(With Agency inputs)
