J-K: 17 lakh voters in Baramulla to decide fate of Omar Abdullah, Sajad Lone

More than 500 centenarians are among the 1737 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise in Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency with political observers expecting a high turnout on the back of the huge crowds that thronged election rallies and roadshowsThe first major political battle post the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 will decide the fate of Omar Abdullah the National Conference vicepresident and a former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state and 21 others in the fray Fourteen Independent candidates two of whom are women are among the hopefuls from the north Kashmir seat which has traditionally returned a higher turnout compared to areas in central and south Kashmir The constituency goes to the polls on MondayAbdullah faces the biggest challenge from separatistturnedpolitician and former minister Sajad Lone who heads the Peoples Conference The blazing campaign trail witnessed the rivals going full throttle against each other and even bringing in the BJP to target each other despite the saffron party not contesting from any of the three parliamentary seats of Srinagar Baramulla and AnantnagRajouri in the ValleyHowever it is the presence of jailed Awami Ittehad Party leader and former MLA Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Engineer Rashid that has spiced up the contest The Peoples Democratic Party has fielded former Rajya Sabha member Mir Mohammad Fayaz while Muneer Khan the brother of jailed separatist leader Nayeem Ahmad Khan is contesting as an IndependentMost observers however expect a triangular contest among Abdullah Lone and Rashid The Ghulam Nabi Azadled Democratic Progressive Azad Party has backed Rashids candidature while the Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari has thrown its weight behind Lone Given the huge turnout at the rallies and roadshows political observers expect Baramulla to break turnout records in Kashmir The election authorities gave permission for 1859 rallies meetings and roadshows while 300 applications were rejectedIn 2019 the constituency recorded 3417 per cent polling with Kupwara district registering the highest turnout at 517 per cent followed by Bandipora at 318 per cent and Baramulla at 24 per cent The constituency is spread over 18 assembly segments in the three districts of Kupwara Baramulla and Bandipora and also includes two segments of Budgam that were included on the recommendations of the delimitation commission two years agoAccording to Election Commission officials 1737 lakh people are eligible to cast their votes at 2103 polling stations There are 527 persons above the age of 100 who are eligible to exercise their franchise There are 875831 875 lakh male and 862000 862 lakh female voters besides 34 from the third gender More than 17000 voters are persons with disabilities they saidMore than 8000 polling staff including reserves have been deployed at the polling stations to ensure smooth conduct of the polls the officials said and added that 28 polling stations are located in the border areas of Kupwara and Baramulla districts Voting will be held from 700 am to 600 pm There are 18 polling booths managed by women 17 manned by speciallyabled persons and 18 by youngsters To spread messages on the environment the authorities have also set up 21 green polling boothsin Jammu Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Arvind Karwani said that all arrangements including security are in place for Mondays polling for displaced Kashmiris Twentyeight polling stations including auxiliary ones have been established in Jammu and Delhi We have ensured all arrangements at each polling station with help desks set up to assist voters Karwani told PTI video servicesHe emphasised that help desks will facilitate voters with EPIC cards even if their names are missing from voter lists ensuring that every eligible elector can exercise their franchise Karwani said that over 20000 displaced voters are eligible to vote Of the 28 polling stations for migrants 21 are in Jammu four in Delhi one in Udhampur and three are auxiliary polling stationsThe Election Commission has arranged a pickanddrop facility for Kashmiri migrant voters operational from 6 am to 6 pm on polling day This transport facility will be available in areas with higher concentrations of migrant voters Karwani addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever