With polling for the third and final Phase of elections to J&K Legislative Assembly receiving huge momentum, an impressive 56.01 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm, said the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K on Tuesday.

The polling started at 7 AM in all 5,060 polling stations across 40 Assembly Constituencies of seven districts namely Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora in Kashmir Division; and Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua and Samba in Jammu Division.

People were seen waiting in long queues waiting eagerly to exercise their franchise.

In this phase, 39,18,220 voters — 20,09,033 male, 19,09,130 female and 57 third-gender — are eligible to cast their ballots.

The respective District Administrations have made elaborative arrangements at all the polling stations for free, fair and transparent elections. Earlier, mock drills were also conducted in all the polling stations.

Security measures have been intensified, with personnel from the Jammu & Kashmir Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Central Police Forces (CAPF) ensuring a smooth and safe voting process across the region.

This phase will determine the fate of 415 candidates. The final phase will determine the fate of several prominent political figures, including 17 former ministers, eight ex-MLAs, and four officials who took voluntary retirement from services (VRS) to join the electoral race.

Among the top contenders in the Kashmir division are former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beg and former ministers, Taj Mohiud-Din, Sajjad Lone, Syed Basharat Bukhari, Ghulam Hassan Mir, and Imran Ansari, representing major political parties such as the People’s Conference, Apni Party, National Conference (NC), and People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Key figures from Jammu are, former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand (Chhamb), Mula Ram (Marh), Sham Sharma and Ajay Sadhotra (Jammu North), Devender Rana (Nagrota) along with other senior politicians including Raman Bhalla and Choudhary Gharu Ram (Jammu South-RS Pura), are also vying for victory.

Notable candidates include BJP national secretary Narinder Singh and former MLA Devender Singh Rana, contesting from Jammu South-RS Pura and Nagrota, respectively. Other prominent leaders in the race include Balwant Singh Mankotia (Chenani), Choudhary Lal Singh (Basohli), and Harshdev Singh (Chenani).