Srinagar: The second phase of municipal elections of Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted on October 10.

According to the statement released by chief electoral officer Shaleen Kabra, citizens of 11 districts of the state, including five from the Valley and six from Jammu, will cast their votes on Wednesday.

A total of 263 wards will witness the poll process in the second phase of the municipal elections in which 49 wards are in Kashmir whereas 214 are from Jammu.

For the second phase of polling, the administration has set up 544 polling stations throughout the state. This includes 274 in the Jammu region whereas 270 are in the Kashmir region.

As many as 1,029 candidates are in the fray, vying for the control of 263 wards. The fate of 881 candidates will be sealed in EVM machines in the Jammu region; 148 candidates are in the race in Kashmir.

The size of the electorate is 3,46,980, with 1,28,104 in the Jammu division belonging to 18 municipal bodies and 2,18,876 in the Kashmir division are spread across five municipal bodies.

To address the lower turnout in the Valley in the first phase, the Election Commission has decided to extend the poll hours from 9 to 10 hours for the second phase.