Voting underway for 2nd phase of J&K Assembly polls, Omar Abdullah in running

Voters across 26 constituencies in six districts of Jammu and Kashmir will cast their ballots today in the second phase of the Assembly polls in the union territory amid high security. In this phase, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is one of the most prominent candidates along with 238 others in the running.
The People’s Democratic Party has fielded 26 candidates, the highest number, followed by the National Conference with 20, BJP with 17, and the Congress with six. There are 170 independent and other candidates.
The seats where voting will take place comprise Kangan, Ganderbal, Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habbakadal, Lal Chowk, Channapora, Zadibal, Eidgah, Central Shalteng, Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib, Chrar-i-Sharif, Chadoora, Gulabgarh, Reasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Kalakote-Sundarbani, Nowshera, Rajouri, Budhal, Thannamandi, Surankote, Poonch Haveli and Mendhar.
Today’s voting comes a week after the first phase of the polls was conducted on September 18. This was the first such election in the union territory in a decade and saw a record voter turnout of 60.21 per cent – the highest in the past seven elections.