Constituencies are set to go for polling in the seventh phase of ongoing District Development Council (DDC) polls and 438 Panch and 69 Sarpanch seats will also witness voting on December 16, 2020 across Jammu and Kashmir.Addressing a Press Conference here, State Election Commissioner (SEC), KK Sharma informed that a total of 31 DDC constituencies will go to polls including 13 seats from Kashmir division and 18 from Jammu division.Giving further details, the SEC said that against the 13 DDC constituencies of Kashmir division going to poll tomorrow, there are 148 candidates in fray including 34 females. In Jammu division, there are 150 candidates in fray for the 18 DDC constituencies in this phase, including 38 females.687115 electors (359187 male and 327928 female voters) are going to elect their representatives in all 31 DDC constituencies, he said and added that a total of 1852 polling stations have been designated with 1068 in Kashmir division and 784 in Jammu division.
The SEC further informed that of 117 Sarpanch vacancies notified in the 7th phase, 30 have been elected unopposed. There shall be a contest in 69 constituencies and 231 candidates including 79 females are in fray, he added.Similarly, he said that out of the total 1270 Panch vacancies notified in this phase, 416 elected unopposed with 438 constituencies will go for elections with 1000 candidates contesting the elections including 287 female candidates.The SEC said that all the requisite arrangements for this phase are in place including man power, election material and security arrangements in all poll going areas.Referring to the arrangements in place in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SEC said adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure safety of all stakeholders including the voters coming to vote at the polling stations. ‘Sanitizers, thermal scanners and face masks have been arranged at the polling stations to ensure that SOPs issued by the concerned authorities, including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing, are strictly followed at the polling stations”, he added.