J&K, Jharkhand 3rd phase Assembly polls: As it happened

Ranchi/Srinagar: Unfazed by the recent terror attacks, a 59 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the third phase of the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday as they continued to ignore boycott calls but it was lower than the earlier rounds.

Here are the Live Updates:-

9:00 pm: Braving the freezing cold and defying a call by separatist groups to boycott Assembly polls, 59 percent electorates voted in the third phase of the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

6:17 pm: Jammu and Kashmir records 58 percent turnout in 3rd phase of Assembly polls.

6:15 pm: An estimated 60.89 percent polling recorded in 17 Assembly constituencies of Jharkhand.

4:55 pm: Nearly 60 percent of polling has been recorded in 14 of the 17 Assembly constituencies spread across eight districts of Jharkhand where voting was held today.

4:05 pm: Barring stray incidents, voting ends peacefully in all the 16 Assembly constituencies that went to polls today in Kashmir.

3.20 pm: 48% voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir till 3 pm, claim reports.

3.10 pm: Jammu & Kashmir records 43% voting till 2 pm.

3.05 pm: Jharkhand records nearly 55% voting till 2.30 pm, voting for third phase ends here.

2.50 pm: Police recovers bombs during an encounter with Maoists, from poll bound constituency of Dhanwar in Giridih, Jharkhand.

2.45 pm: 45.64% voting recorded till 1 pm in Jharkhand, Silli remains highest at 60.6% and Ranchi lowest at 32.72%, claim reports.

2.30 pm: Jharkhand records 45.66% polling till 1 pm, claim officials.

2:15 pm: Moderate polling has been recorded in the first four hours of voting in 17 Assembly constituencies spread across eight districts of Jharkhand with over 30% of the electorate exercising their franchise till noon.

1.05 pm: Undeterred by militant attack on Friday, voters throng poll station in Uri in large numbers.

Also Read: Undeterred by militant attack, voters throng poll station in Uri

12.30 pm: J&K records 27.03% polling till noon; highest 37.6% turnout in Charar-i-Sharief, followed by 37% in Uri, lowest 15% in Sopore, claim reports.

12.05 pm: A petrol bomb was hurled by unidentified men at a polling station in Gulmarg constituency of Baramulla district, where polling is underway.

11.40 am: According to an Election Commission official, around 30 percent polling has taken place in Jharkhand till 11 am. The voter turnout in urban areas has been good so far, claims the EC official. Ranchi witnessed around 32% polling in the initial hours. The Silli constituency witnessed more 43% voting followed by Koderma where over 36% voter turnout was recorded.

11.30 am: Former external affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha cast his vote in Hazaribagh.

11.25 am: An average 11.76% of voters exercised their franchise till 10 am, poll officials said. Beerwah in Budgam district witnessed 18.16% polling, Sopore registered only 4% voting till 10 am, the officials said. Uri saw over 10% of the electorate exercising their franchise, Rafiabad 12% while Gulmarg saw over 15% voters casti their ballot. Chadoora recorded 15.30%, Budgam 15.88%, Khan Sahib 16.85%, Charari Sharief 13.54%, Tral 5.41%, Pampore 12.28%, Pulwama 7.62%, Rajpora 13%, the officials said.

11.20 am: Poll % in parts of J&K till 10 am: Uri - 10.25 %, Rafiabad - 12.00 %, Sopore - 4.00 %, Sangrama - 10.00 %, Baramulla - 9.87 %, Gulmarg - 15.02 %, Pattan - 8.09 %

11.14 am: Cricketer MS Dhoni's wife Sakshi casts her vote in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

10.50 am: Jharkhand records 13.29% polling till 10 am, around 11.28 % voting in J&K till 10 am. In J&K, the Khansahib constituency recorded the highest voter turnout percentage of 19.64 while Sopore constituency was the lowest with 2.39 percent.

10.30 am: Voters in J&K defy separatist call to boycott the polls, form long queues at polling stations in the third round of the staggered assembly election here.

10.20 am: Heavy exchange of gunfire between security forces and Naxals reported near Kendua Pahari under Dhanwar Assembly constituency in Giridih district of Jharkhand.

Also Read: PM Modi to address election rally in Dhanbad today

9.30 am: 15 percent polling recorded in Jharkhand till 9 am, low key polling in J&K so far.

9.15 am: Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) candidate and sitting MLA from Ichagarh Assembly constituency Arvind Kumar Singh and 11 others have been arrested following a clash between his supporters and BJP workers in adjoining Seraikela-Kharswan district.

Also Read: JVM(P) candidate, 11 others arrested in Jharkhand

9.00 am: Brisk polling has been reported in the first two hours in the two states – Jharkhand & J&K - where voting began this morning.

8.45 am: For Modi ji coming here (J&K) is a political adventure, even Vajpayee ji campaigned here but to no avail, NC candidate Agha Ruhullah is quoted as saying by ANI.

8.30 am: Brisk polling in  J&K so far despite voters lining up at polling stations much before the start of the voting time at 8 am.

8.00 am: Voting began in 16 constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir going to polls in third of the five-phased state elections. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and three of his cabinet colleagues are among 144 candidates whose fate will be decided today in the third phase of polling in 16 seats spread across Budgam, Pulwama and Baramulla districts.

7.00 am: Voting for the third phase election to the Jharkhand Assembly began at 7 am in 17 constituencies spread across eight districts.

Also Read: Turnout in large numbers, Modi urges voters

6. 30 am: PM Narendra Modi appealed to voters to turnout in large numbers to vote in third phase of assembly polls in two states - Jharkhand and J&K.

Urging all those voting today, in Phase 3 of the Assembly elections in J&K and Jharkhand, to turnout in record numbers & cast their vote. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 9, 2014

Jharkhand

In this phase, 289 candidates, including 26 females, are in the fray for 17 of the total 81 assembly constituencies.

In the third phase, the electoral fate of 289 candidates will be decided by 50,16,657 voters, including 23,55,728 female.

Marandi, who became the first chief minister of the state after resigning from the erstwhile Atal Bihari Vajpayee council of ministers on November 15, 2000, is locked in a tight contest at Dhanwar constituency which was won by his Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) candidate Nizzamudin Ansari in the 2009 Assembly elections.

Ansari filed nomination on a JMM ticket but his papers were invalid following his conviction in a murder case.

Eight MLAs are seeking re-elections in this phase, having 103 independent candidates out of a total of 289, including 26 women.

The constituencies going to the poll are: Kodarma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribagh, Simaria (SC), Dhanwar, Gomia, Bermo, Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia and Kanke (SC).

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and three of his cabinet colleagues are among 144 candidates whose fate will be decided today in the third phase of polling in 16 seats spread across Budgam, Pulwama and Baramulla districts.

Unprecedented security arrangements have been made as voting is taking place in the shadow of terror attacks from across the border that left 21 people dead in the Valley December 5. All eyes will be on Uri and Tral constituencies, which were hit by militant violence ahead of the polls. The first two phases of elections in the state saw a record turnout of over 70 percent, with voters ignoring boycott calls by separatists and militant outfits.

The stakes are high for Peoples Democratic Party as it held nine of the sixteen Assembly constituencies which have an electorate of 13.69 lakh electors, including 6.51 lakh women. A total of 144 candidates are in the fray including the Chief Minister, three of his cabinet colleagues and 10 other sitting MLAs. 1,781 polling stations have been set up in the area.

Omar, who chose to contest from Beerwah in Budgam instead of his family bastion of Ganderbal, hopes that some of the recent steps taken by his government for the area will help him sail through the electoral tide from a constituency which was won by PDP candidates in the last two elections.

A security force officer said: "500 companies of central security forces have deployed for tomorrow's (Tuesday) polls in addition to the existing ones drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force and police."

Four constituencies of Pulwama district, five of Badgam district and seven of Baramulla district are going to the polls in the third phase. A total of 138 candidates, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, are in the fray. Webcasting, videography, flying squads and appointments of macro and micro observers are some of the measures taken by the election commission to ensure free and fair poll.

(With Agency inputs)