Srinagar/Jammu:

Jammu and Kashmir is set for the third and final phase of Assembly elections on Tuesday, with 39.18 lakh voters eligible to decide the political fate of 415 candidates in 40 constituencies spread from the plains of Jammu to the mountains of Kashmir.

Voting is scheduled in the 40 Assembly constituencies in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, and Udhampur districts of the Jammu division, and in the Baramulla and Kupwara districts of the Valley.

The Jammu district has 11, Samba three, Kathua six, and Udhampur four Assembly constituencies while Baramulla has seven, Bandipora three, and Kupwara district has six seats.

The Election Commission has set up 5,030 polling stations for voters for the third phase. Special polling stations have also been set up for Kashmiri migrant voters. Of these, 11 are in Jammu, 4 in Delhi, and one in Udhampur district.

EC officials said that all the polling staff with polling material like EVMs, electoral rolls etc have already moved to their respective destinations. Some of the polling stations in the Baramulla and Kupwara districts are located close to the Line of Control (LoC).

Police officials said that an adequate number of security personnel drawn from the CRPF and J&K Police have already reached various polling stations to secure these for the poll staff and the voters.

“Area domination around different polling stations, securing the to and fro passage of poll staff and the general public on the roads and highways has also been ensured due to extraordinary security arrangements in Jammu and the Valley,” a senior police officer said.

The officer added that foolproof security is in place throughout J&K, especially in the districts going to vote on Tuesday so that the terrorists and their sympathisers are prevented from interfering with the poll process.

Given the high-pitch campaign done by various political parties and the contesting candidates, it looks likely that a large number of voters will turn out to vote on Tuesday.

The first two rounds of elections were held on September 18 and 25 and counting of votes will be taken up on October 8.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jammu:

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday night appointed four officers from the J&K Police Services (JKPS) as new Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) for Srinagar, Baramulla, and Kupwara districts, and as Superintendent of Police (SP) of Handwara, in accordance with approval from the Election Commission of India.

As per an order issued by the Principal Secretary Home, Chandrakar Bharti, seven police officials, including two IPS officers, have been transferred and given new assignments across three districts and one police district.

The Election Commission on Wednesday directed the transfer of senior police officials from Srinagar, Baramulla, Kupwara districts, and Handwara SP, instructing the administration to submit a panel of IPS officers for their replacement.

JKPS officer Imtiyaz Hussain Mir has been appointed as SSP Srinagar, Mohammad Zaid as SSP Baramulla, Ghulam Jeelani Wani as SSP Kupwara, and Ifroz Ahmad as SP Handwara, the order stated.

IPS officers Gurinderpal Singh and Shobhit Saksena have been reassigned from their roles as SSPs of Baramulla and Kupwara districts to Incharge Director Police Telecommunications and SSP CID (Headquarters) respectively. Dawood Ayoub, SP Handwara, has been appointed as SSP CID, headquaters, order added.

In a communique sent to the J&K Chief Secretary, the Commission approved the postings of Mohammad Zaid as SSP Baramulla, Ghulam Jeelani Wani as SSP Kupwara, Ifroz Ahmad as SP Handwara, and Imtiyaz Hussain Mir as SSP Srinagar.

On Wednesday, the Commission directed the Union Territory administration to submit a panel of IPS officers for the positions of SP and SSP in Srinagar, Baramulla, Handwara, and Kupwara by Thursday evening.

The Commission’s actions are seen as a measure to ensure a fair electoral process ahead of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A three-member delegation of US diplomats visited Srinagar on Monday ahead of the Assembly elections in the Union Territory after a gap of 10 years.

“The visit is well within the boundaries of diplomatic outreach mechanism of the US State Department,” a senior government official told NDTV.

According to the official, the visits are not unusual as similar visits with diplomats were common in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. “They get a chance to make on-ground assessments,” he said.

Received US diplomats at Gupkar who called on National Conference Vice President @OmarAbdullah. The delegation included Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Graham Mayer, First Secretary Gary Applegarth, and Political Counselor Abhiram.

Member of Parliament and senior leader… pic.twitter.com/Kzu4iUoS5W

— Tanvir Sadiq (@tanvirsadiq) August 26, 2024

The delegation included Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Graham Mayer, First Secretary Gary Applegarth, and Political Counselor Abhiram. They met political leaders from Kashmir including former chief minister Omar Abdullah as well as former mayor of Srinagar Junaid Azim Mattu.

“The presence of CIA station head Graham Mayer in Srinagar is an indication that US is observing elections minutely, especially in backdrop of US interests in Pakistan and recent reports of Chinese inroads in Ladakh,” a source told NDTV.

Was called on by the Minister Counselor for Political Affairs, @USAndIndia, Graham D. Mayer this morning. pic.twitter.com/Wg5tkWQH6Y

— Junaid Azim Mattu (@Junaid_Mattu) August 26, 2024

An official said that US and India have increased coordination to ensure security in Ladakh. According to him, Mr Mayer had also visited Srinagar in 2023 and met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

Interestingly, the visit comes at a time when terror attacks in the Valley have increased. “India has been insisting that terror is being exported from Pakistan and weapons are being smuggled from Afghanistan. The recovered weapons bear clear US markings. So there is ample proof to establish connection,” an official said.

National Conference Chief Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said that the delegation’s discussions addressed a wide range of issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir and the broader region. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah also raised the recent travel advisory issued by US for the region.

In July, US had asked its nationals not to travel to Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, the India-Pakistan border, and parts of central and eastern parts of the country where Maoists are active.

“Some areas have increased risk. Do not travel to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest,” the advisory said.

US is among several countries that have issued travel advisories, asking their citizens not to visit Jammu and Kashmir.

Srinagar:

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and vice president of National Conference (NC), Omar Abdullah will contest the upcoming Assembly elections from the Ganderbal constituency.

This announcement was made by Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, a Lok Sabha member, and Nasir Aslam Wani, NC provincial president on Sunday in the presence of Omar Abdullah and Mian Altaf Ahmad, senior NC leader and MP from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.

Omar Abdullah had come to Nuner village of Ganderbal district where Sayim Mustafa, a political activist joined the party.

Sayim Mustafa had unsuccessfully fought the Lok Sabha election for the Srinagar seat when Syed Ruhullah Mehdi defeated Sayim among other candidates.

Sunday’s announcement about Omar Abdullah deciding to fight the Assembly elections has negated his earlier statement that he would not stand for the elections as long as J&K remained a union territory.

Omar Abdullah served as the Chief Minister of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state from 2009 to 2015 and was also the president of his party. He is a three-time Lok Sabha MP and has represented the Assembly constituencies of Ganderbal (2008-2014) and Beerwah (2014-2019). He lost the 2002 Assembly elections to Qazi Mohammad Afzal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ganderbal.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has already issued notice for the first phase of the 3-phased Assembly polls in J&K.

In the first phase, 24 Assembly segments spread in the Valley and the Jammu division will go to vote on September 18.

Voting for the second phase will take place on September 25 and for the last phase on October 1. Counting of votes will be held on October 4 and the entire poll process will be concluded by October 6.

J&K has been without an elected government since June 2018 when the BJP pulled out of the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government.

The state came under the Governor’s rule and the then-governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the Assembly.

On August 5, 2019, Article 370 was abrogated and J&K was bifurcated into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)