The polling that started at 9 am will continue till 1 pm. (Representational)
Voting for the Block Development Council (BDC) elections began in Jammu and Kashmir this morning amid tight security.
The Panches and Sarpanches from across the state will cast their votes for the BDC elections.
The polling that started at 9 am will continue till 1 pm. The counting of votes will take place at 3 pm.
This is the first electoral exercise in the state after the special status of the state was scrapped on August 5.
There are a total of 1,065 candidates in the fray. Adequate security arrangements have been put in place for a smooth conduct of polls in the 310 polling stations.
"Security has been alerted for the BDC elections, Jammu and Kashmir police Chief Dilbagh Singh said.
The regional parties like the National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and also the congress have boycotted the polls.
Senior leaders of the NC and PDP are under arrest since August 5.
The BJP is contesting elections on 50 Panchayat segments.