The high-stakes campaigning for the third and final phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections concluded on Sunday evening with voting set to take place for 40 constituencies in the third phase.
Of the 40 constituencies, 24 fall under the Jammu division and the remaining in Kashmir.
This election marks the first one in a decade and the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
The three-phase election is witnessing a multi-cornered fight for the 90 seats across the erstwhile state.
While the National Conference and the Congress are fighting the elections in an alliance, the People’s Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the two other major players.
Major political parties, especially the BJP, Congress, NC, and PDP, have been involved in heated debates over key issues including Pakistan, Article 370, terrorism, and reservation, all through the days of campaigning.
High-profile leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah (BJP), Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, and former J-K chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abudullah, and Mehbooba Mufti, were on the ground for weeks.
Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are not just any ordinary election but a demonstration of India’s democracy and its strength.
Targeting Pakistan, the Defence Minister said that whenever the agencies investigated terrorist activities in Kashmir, Pakistan has always been found to be involved in that.
He also highlighted the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP), launched by PM Modi in 2015 for Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a public rally in Gurez at Bandipore area today, Rajnath Singh asserted that if there had been a better relationship, India would have given more money to Pakistan than what they have asked from the International Monetary Fund.
Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out against the Congress in his election rally in Jammu and spoke of the 2016 surgical strikes and the “robust response” of his government against those trying to create trouble in the country.
Addressing a rally in Jammu, PM Modi referred to the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army in 2016 on terror launch pads across the Line of Control after a terrorist strike in Uri and said that the action gave out a message about “new India.”
Meanwhile, Nasrallah’s killing has created another political row, with People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, cancelling her election campaign on Sunday for the third phase of the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir in “solidarity with the martyrs of Lebanon and Gaza, especially Hassan Nasarullah.”
“Cancelling my campaign tomorrow in solidarity with the martyrs of Lebanon and Gaza, especially Hassan Nasarullah. We stand with the people of Palestine and Lebanon in this hour of immense grief and exemplary resistance,” Mehbooba Mufti said in a post on X on Saturday.
Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed Mufti for showing solidarity with Nasrallah and accused her of supporting terrorists.
Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that parties like the National Conference, People’s Democratic Party and Congress support terrorism and not democracy. He further said that these parties are aware of the situation in Gaza but are unable to see what’s happening with the Hindus in Dhaka.
BJP leader Kavinder Gupta termed Mufti’s empathy as “crocodile tears” and questioned the PDP chief on her silence on the “attacks and killings” of Hindus in Bangladesh and said that one should speak on the “lines of humanity.”
BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur also attacked Mufti over the issue and said she was playing her “religious card” and an “election stunt” for doing appeasement.
Voting for this crucial phase covers 40 Assembly segments across seven districts–Jammu, Udhampur, Samba, and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora, and Kupwara in north Kashmir.
Earlier, polling parties were dispatched for Bani Assembly constituency ahead of the 3rd phase of J-K Assembly Elections.
Speaking about the polls, Kathua Dy Election Officer, Nagesh Singh, said, “Elections for the third phase of J-K Assembly elections will be held in our district. The polling party for Bani Assembly Constituency has been dispatched.”
“Later, they will leave for their respective polling stations. There are a total of 704 polling stations in the Kathua district. In Bani, there are 94 polling stations. Flying Squad Teams (FST) and Static Surveillance Teams (SST) have been deployed to ensure free and fair elections,” he informed.
In another development, the BJP suspended three of its leaders on Saturday after they were found involved in ‘anti-party activities’ ahead of the third phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir.
The names of the leaders are Amit Sharma, DDC Majalta, Prakshit Singh, DDC Jaganu, and Swarn Singh Rathore, District Vice President, Udhampur.
Following the encounter with terrorists in village Kog (Mandli), in the Kathua district on Saturday, the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of Jammu Anand Jain said that all the required arrangements have been made for the third phase of the assembly polls in the Union Territory.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday became unwell while addressing a rally in the Jasrota area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district.
Kharge was discharged from a hospital in Kathua after he felt slightly unwell while addressing a public meeting in Jasrota. The Congress president was paying tribute to a head constable killed in an anti-terror operation in Kathua.
Congress leader Thakur Balbir Singh said that the Congress President felt suffocated due to the extreme heat.
After taking a rest, Kharge resumed his speech, reassuring the crowd that his health was fine and saying that he was not going to die so early.
“We will fight to restore statehood. I am 83 years old, I am not going to die so early. I will stay alive till PM Modi is removed from power,” the Congress leader said.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Kashmir Zone, VK Birdi, chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the law and order situation in Srinagar, officials said.
According to an official statement, the meeting began with the participating officers briefing the IGP Kashmir on the overall security scenario and providing insights into the existing security challenges.
The discussions encompassed various facets, including intelligence gathering and response to various emergent situations. The district SSsP also briefed the IGP Kashmir regarding the preparedness and the issues related to the current law and order situation of their respective districts.
IGP Kashmir directed the officers to meticulously prepare, plan, and monitor their respective areas of responsibility to prevent any untoward law and order outbreak.
He directed district SSsP, cyber cell, IT and social media cells to monitor social media and identify the rumour mongers and those who post incriminating material.
He emphasised strict adherence to SOPs and stressed conducting coordination meetings with the public to ensure peace and calm in the valley.
The first phase of Assembly polls was held on September 18, while the second phase of polling was held on September 25, in the six districts of Ganderbal, Budgam, Srinagar, and Jammu regions: Rajouri, Reasi, and Poonch.
The third and final phase of polling is scheduled for October 1, while the counting of votes will take place on October 8.
Voter turnouts of 61 per cent and 57.31 per cent was recorded in the first and second phases of polling respectively in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission of India said on Friday. (ANI)
