By IANS,
Srinagar: Polling for the 12th phase of panchayat elections in nine blocks of Jammu and Kashmir ended Sunday afternoon with enthusiastic voters braving the summer heat to elect representatives for grassroot level governance.
Voting started at 8 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m.
Baramulla, Kakapora and Achabal in the Kashmir Valley and Paddar, Nagseni, Ghat Doda, Gool, Mandi and Poonch blocks in the Jammu region went to the polls Sunday.
Large numbers of voters lined up outside the polling stations in south Kashmir’s Kakapora and Achabal blocks and in north Kashmir’s Baramulla block.
At many polling stations women outnumbered the men.
Till 12 noon, Achabal recorded 45 percent voting, Baramulla 49 percent and Kakapora 30 percent polling.
There are 847 candidates, including eight women, contesting for 235 posts of sarpanchs or village heads in the 12th phase.
Besides this, 2,967 candidates, including 870 women, are in the fray for 1,783 village council posts.
Votes will be counted at the polling stations Sunday and results declared on the spot in presence of the contesting candidates.
The panchayat polls are being held in the state after a gap of 10 years. The polls are being held in 16 phases and will end June 16.
As the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act does not provide the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), paper ballots are being used.