538 polling parties dispatched to 4 ACs of Rajouri ahead of Polling
New Delhi, May 24 :
Srinagar: Amid security challenges, Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir is set to go to polls on May 25, following a rescheduled date from the initial May 7 due to severe weather conditions.
The delimitation exercise completed in May 2022 shifted the geographic boundaries and demographic composition of the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat that was earlier limited to the four districts of south Kashmir but now spans across the Pir Panjal into Poonch and Rajouri.
It includes 18 assembly segments across five districts- seven in Jammu (four in Rajouri and three in Poonch) and eleven in Kashmir (seven in Anantnag, three in Kulgam, and one in Shopian).
It encompasses 1,836,576 registered voters, with a breakdown of 933,647 males, 902,902 females, and 27 third-gender voters. Among them are 17,967 persons with disabilities and 540 centenarians. Additionally, 81,000 voters will be casting their ballots for the first time since the 2019 elections.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has set up 2,338 polling stations, staffed by over 9,000 personnel. In Rajouri and Poonch, there are 19 border polling stations. 20 candidates are in the fray, with the primary contest between PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and influential tribal leader from National Conference and former minister Mian Altaf.
Both Mehbooba, who won from Anantnag in 2014, and her father and PDP founder late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed have represented the constituency in Parliament.
Ahmad is a five-time former MLA from Kangan in central Kashmir and has served as a cabinet minister in the governments of both Farooq and Omar Abdullah.
Campaigning concluded on Thursday evening, and Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed to ensure a peaceful electoral process. Voting in the Srinagar and Baramulla constituencies has already concluded peacefully, without any poll-related violence.
However, recent attacks, including the killing of a government employee in Rajouri, an ambush on an Indian Air Force convoy in Poonch, and the killing of a sarpanch in Shopian, underscore significant security concerns.
J&K Chief Electoral Officer P. K. Pole stated that despite recent years of relative peace, extra precautions are necessary. Over 25,000 security personnel have been deployed, with around 1,600 polling stations classified as “hypersensitive” due to heightened terrorist activities in Rajouri-Poonch.
Pole encouraged voters to participate, emphasizing the high turnout in previous
Amid security challenges
elections and the extensive facilities provided at polling stations. He urged the residents of Poonch and Rajouri to exercise their right to vote on May 25.
As many as 538 polling parties along with polling material were today dispatched to different polling stations across Rajouri, Thanamandi, Nowshera and Budhal Assembly Constituencies of 3-Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary Constituency where polling is being held tomorrow.
Amidst tight security, the polling staff and other logistics left from their respective dispatch centres marking a crucial step in the polling process for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in the Rajouri, Thanamandi, Nowshera and Budhal Assembly Constituencies.
District Election Officer, Om Prakash Bhagat personally supervised the dispatch process, marking a significant logistical feat of the district administration, security personnel, and election officials.
District Election Officer, expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
To ensure the safety and security of the polling parties and the polling material, stringent security measures have been put in place. The DEO said that the deployment of adequate security personnel will ensure a secure environment for the polling parties to carry out their duties without any hindrance.
The 4 Assembly Constituencies have 389721 voters, including 202809 males, 186905 females and 07 transgender. Of the total of 542 polling stations, 278 have been identified as sensitive.
Meanwhile, the District Election Officer undertook a comprehensive visit to review the election preparations in Nowshera subdivision. He was accompanied by the Additional Deputy Commissioner Nowshera, Babu Ram Tandan.
The visit of the District Election Officer encompassed multiple polling stations. Among the notable highlights of the visit was the inspection of the pink polling station at Nowshera, staffed exclusively by women.
The DEO meticulously reviewed the preparations undertaken thus far and provided directives to the election staff to ensure the smooth, free, and fair conduct of elections across the district.
Stage is set for the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections in which as many as 58 Lok Sabha seats, seats, including all seven constituencies of Delhi will go to the poll on May 25.
In this phase, the voting will occur in 6 states and two Union territories. All the 7 seats in Delhi and all the 10 seats in Haryana will participate in this phase.
The states and union territories voting in Phase 6 of the Lok Sabha elections include Bihar (8 seats), Haryana (all 10 seats), Jammu and Kashmir (one seat), Jharkhand (4 seats), Delhi (all 7 seats), Odisha (6 seats), Uttar Pradesh (14 seats) and West Bengal (8 seats).
According to the Elections Commission, as many as 889 candidates are in the fray.
The political fate of prominent leaders including senior BJP leaders Dharmendra Pradhan, Maneka Gandhi, Manohar Lal Khattar, Sambit Patra, Bansuri Swaraj and Manoj Tiwari, and Congress leaders Deepender Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja, Raj Babbar and Kanhaiya Kumar, as well as Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, will be decided in this phase.
In the National capital, a total of 162 candidates are in the fray. Manoj Tiwari, and Bansuri Swaraj of BJP, Somnath Bharti and Kuldeep Kumar of Aam Aadmi Party, and Kanhaiya Kumar and JP Agarwal of Congress are the prominent names who are trying their luck this time.
According to the Election Commission, a total of one crore 52 lakh people are eligible to exercise their franchise out of which around 82 lakh are male and 70 lakh are female voters.
A total of 13 thousand 637 polling stations have been established by the poll body to conduct smooth voting.
In this phase, polling will also be conducted in Jammu & Kashmir’s Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency. Last month, the Election Commission of India (ECI) revised the polling date in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat from May 7 to May 25 due to logistical, communication, and natural barriers related to connectivity.
The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 are being held in seven phases. The first five phases were held on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20. The seventh phase will take place on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.
Forty-two Assembly constituencies in Odisha are also going for polls on Saturday, in the third phase of Assembly elections being held in the state simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections.
