J-K: Counting underway for municipal polls

File photo elections in J&K.


The counting of votes for the recently concluded municipal polls began amid tight security in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

According to poll officials, the counting began at 8 am and all results would be declared later in the day.

For the Srinagar municipal corporation, the counting is being held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar and for the Jammu municipal corporation it is being held at the Polytechnic Institute near Bikram Chowk.

Tight security arrangements have been made across the state.

The municipal elections were held in four phases covering 79 municipal bodies with an electorate of about 17 lakh electors. A total of 3,372 nominations were filed for 1,145 Wards and the voting was held on October 8, 10, 13 and 16. Of the 598 wards in Kashmir, 231 candidates were elected unopposed, while there were no candidates on 181 wards.

The Valley witnessed very low voter turnout while Jammu and Ladakh recorded heavy polling. The overall voting percentage for these polls in the state stood at 35.1 per cent.

The elections are a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress. A large number of independents are also in the fray. The National Conference and the PDP did not participate in the polls.

The urban local bodies polls in Jammu and Kashmir were held after a gap of 13 years, with the last elections being conducted in 2005.

(With agency inputs)