The third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will commence on Tuesday morning, with voting to take place for 40 seats.

As voters head to the polls, a rise in independent candidates, low female representation, and criminal cases loom large.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar lauded Jammu and Kashmir's voters for their record turnout in the first two phases of Assembly elections. He urged even greater participation in the third phase.

While foreign media were denied access, over a dozen foreign diplomats from New Delhi visited polling stations in the Srinagar and Budgam districts.

The final phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir is set for Tuesday with over 39.18 lakh voters eligible to vote across 40 constituencies. This marks the first assembly election in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

In Jammu, 24 seats will see a close contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, while in the Kashmir region, 16 seats will see competition between INDIA bloc candidates from the National Conference-Congress and representatives from the Jammu Kashmir People’s Conference and Awami Itihad Party.

Around 3.9 million electors are eligible to vote across 40 Assembly Constituencies and 415 candidates in the fray. The Election Commission of India has established 5060 polling stations with 240 speci