The second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections will be held tomorrow, September 25. In this phase, voting will take place for 26 seats across 6 districts.
The second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections will be held on Wednesday, September 25. Security has been tightened in all six districts where voting will take place. Three of these districts – Reasi, Rajouri, and Poonch – have experienced multiple terror attacks over the past three years.
Rajouri: Security personnel stand guard outside a polling booth near Line on Control (LOC) ahead of the second phase election of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly
In the second phase of the elections, voters in three central Kashmir districts – Srinagar, Ganderbal, and Budgam – will choose from 239 candidates running for 26 assembly seats. This also includes 79 candidates in the Pir Panjal region of Jammu.
Security is very strict in all six districts to make sure voters can vote safely, especially in 11 areas in the hill districts that have faced the most attacks in recent years. Since 2021, these areas have seen more than a dozen terror attacks, with the latest and most deadly one happening in Reasi, where a bus carrying pilgrims was attacked, killing nine people.
Officials said that since many of the areas are near the Line of Control (LoC), a plan has been made to handle any situation, especially in case of cross-border shelling. However, the chances of this happening are low because of the current ceasefire.
Jammu and Kashmir polls Phase 2: Voting time, details
In the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, more than 2.5 million voters will cast their votes across six districts—three in the Kashmir Valley and three in the Jammu region.
Voting will be held on September 25 in 26 constituencies. These include areas like Kangan, Ganderbal, Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habbakadal, Lal Chowk, Channapora, Zadibal, Eidgah, Central Shalteng, Budgam, Beerwah, and others. Some of the constituencies, like Gulabgarh, Rajouri, Budhal, and Mendhar, are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST).The voting across all assembly seats in Phase 2 will commence at 7 am on Wednesday, and end at 6 pm
Key candidates in fray
In the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir elections, 239 candidates are competing for 26 assembly seats. Some important candidates include former chief minister Omar Abdullah, JKPCC president Tariq Hamid Karra, and BJP J-K chief Ravinder Raina.
Omar Abdullah is running for two seats: Ganderbal and Budgam. Karra is competing in Central Shalteng, while Ravinder Raina is running for Nowshera in Rajouri, a seat he has held since 2014.