Jammu, December 8: The polling for the eighth phase of Panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir is currently underway. The voting began at 8 am and will end at 2 PM on Saturday. According to reports, the voting will be held at 2633 polling stations across the State. Out of the total polling stations, 2083 are in Jammu Division while 550 are in the Kashmir Valley. The nine-phase elections that began on November 17 are slated to end on December 11. It must be noted that the Panchayat polls were last held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2011. Jammu & Kashmir Panchayat Elections 2018 Schedule: Polling to be Held in 9 Phases From November 17 to December 11; Voting Through Ballot Papers.

As per details by election commission officials, 6,304 candidates are in the fray for 331 Sarpanch and 2007 Panch seats in this phase, while 43 Sarpanchs and 681 Panchs have been elected unopposed. An electorate of 5,15,121 have the right to exercise their franchise for Sarpanch constituencies and 419775 for Panch constituencies, they said. Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Elections 2018: Action Initiated Against Officials After Pictures of ‘Roofless’ Polling Station Goes Viral. 

In the eight phase, 43 Sarpanchs and 681 Panchs have been elected unopposed and polling will take place for 331 Sarpanch and 2007 Panch seats with 6304 candidates in the fray. Reports inform that 361 polling stations have been categorised as hypersensitive with 171 in Kashmir division and 190 in Jammu division.

In the seventh phase, an overall 75.8 per cent voter turnout was registered in the state for poll, with a poll percentage of 44.4 per cent in the Kashmir division and 83.2 per cent in the Jammu division.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 08, 2018 11:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).