Amidst intelligence reports that Pakistan-backed terrorists are planning to disrupt the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in north and south Kashmir, Northern Army Commander Lt General MV Suchindra Kumar on Sunday visited various Army formations in the Valley and Jammu and Kashmir asked the troops to remain in a high state of operational alacrity to meet all forthcoming challenges.

The Northern Army Commander’s visit came hours before polling for the north Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency in the fifth phase on Monday. He also took stock of the security station on the Line of Control (LOC) in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu.

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The Army, para-military forces, and J&K Police are on high alert to thwart any untoward incident during the polling for North Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency in the fifth phase on Monday.

Infiltration attempts from across the Line of Control (LOC) along the segments of the Baramulla constituency were recently foiled by the Indian Army that killed two heavily armed terrorists. Caches of arms and ammunition were also recovered by the security forces during the past few days.

J&K DGP RR Swain on Saturday visited the forward areas in north Kashmir’s Karnah sector that is part of the Baramulla seat and reviewed the security situation. The DGP was accompanied by senior police officers of the area.

The DGP held discussions with the Army officers to understand and analyse infiltration attempts and current efforts to counter them. He was briefed by Army officers, including GOC 28 Div Maj General Girish Kalia and Brigadier NK Dhas.

To review the security scenario in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, segments of the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, going to polls on 25 May, the Additional Director General of Police, Jammu Zone, Anand Jain, visited these areas and held review meetings with the Police, Army and CAPF officers to assess their readiness and preparedness for the parliamentary elections.

He emphasised the need for area domination by the Police and security forces during the election. He impressed upon the participants to implement a foolproof plan for the security of candidates and polling booths. He said that the security arrangements for polling booths should be put in place efficiently, keeping in view the sensitivity of the areas.

A total of 22 candidates are in the fray in Baramulla where the main contest is between former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Peoples Conference chief Sajjad Lone, independent candidate Engineer Rashid, and Mir Mohammad Fayaz of the PDP.

“As many as 17,37,865 electorates have been enrolled in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency where 2,103 polling stations have been established. The enrolled voters include 8,75,831 males and 8,62,000 females, besides 34 third-gender electorates. There are around 17,128 Persons with Disability and 527 persons above the age of 100 years who will be exercising their franchise,”, said the Chief Electoral Officer of J&K. The constituency consists of 4 districts, including Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, and parts of Budgam. Besides, there are 28 border polling stations in Kupwara and Baramulla districts.