The stage is set for the second round of polling in 26 Assembly segments spread across six district headquarters of Jammu and Kashmir amid tight security arrangements on Wednesday.

The fate of 239 candidates including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, J and K BJP Chief Ravinder Raina, and JKPCC Chief Tariq Hamid Karra will be decided by over 25.78 lakh voters.

15 out of 26 Assembly segments are located in the central Kashmir districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, and Budgam, and 11 in the three districts of Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi of Jammu province.

To ensure hassle-free voting the Election Commission of India (ECI) has established 3502 polling stations with 100% webcasting across 26 Assembly constituencies. These include 1056 Urban Polling stations and 2446 Rural Polling stations.

The ECI authorities are also hoping to see higher voter turnout in the second phase. In the first phase, 61.38 per cent of polling was recorded across 24 Assembly segments.

The BJP remained at the forefront as it deployed top brass of the party including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, and BJP Chief JP Nadda to seek votes for the party candidates.

The party has set itself the target of winning majority seats in the Pir Panjal region and retaining its bastion across the hilly Reasi district. In the 2014 Assembly polls, BJP had won two seats from the frontier districts of Rajouri and Poonch.

The BJP is banking heavily on the support of the Gujjar/ Bakerwal and Pahari tribes to romp home victoriously. If the party fails to improve its tally in the region it may find it difficult to fill the gap in the third phase.

From the Congress party, Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, General Secretary GA Mir, AICC Incharge J and K, Bharat Sinh Solanki, JKPCC Chief Tariq Hamid Karra and Pramod Tiwari campaigned for the party candidates.NC leaders also campaigned alongside Congress party leaders to ensure 100 per cent vote transfer in support of the alliance partner.

Among regional players, Omar Abdullah led the party's campaign along with his father Dr Farooq Abdullah while Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter Iltija Mufti continue to lead the PDP's campaign bandwagon. Omar himself is contesting from the two seats of Ganderbal and Budgam.

According to the statement issued by the Department of Information and Public Relations, J and K, 25,78,099 lakh voters (13,12,730  lakh male, 12,65,316 lakh female, and 53 third-gender voters) are eligible to cast their vote in this phase,.

Around 1.20 lakh voters aged 18 to 19 are also eligible in the second phase of polling. Among these, 11,294 are male and 10,065 are female first-time voters. This phase will also see participation from 19,201 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) voters and 20,880 voters above the age of 85.

The highest number of 93 candidates are in the fray in Srinagar district, followed by 46 in Budgam district, 34 in Rajouri district, 25 in Poonch district, 21 in Ganderbal district, and 20 candidates are contesting in Reasi district.

A total of 157 Special polling stations have been established in the second phase including 26 polling booths managed by women as Pink Polling Stations, 26 polling stations manned by specially-abled persons, 26 polling stations manned by youth, 31 Border polling stations, 26 green polling stations and 22 Unique Polling stations.

The Srinagar district has a total of 7,76,674 registered voters, including 3,87,722 male, 3,88,922 female, and 30 transgender voters across eight Assembly constituencies.

The Rajouri has 4,92,008 electorates, including 2,56,215 male, 2,35,786 female, and seven transgender voters.

The Budgam District has a total of 5,11,864 voters across its five Assembly constituencies (2,59,688 male, 2,52,163 female and 13 transgender voters.

Poonch District is divided into three Assembly constituencies, with a total of 3,52,330 registered voters; 1,80,584 male and 1,71,746 female.

The Reasi district has registered a total of 2,37,205 voters, including 1,24,359 male, 1,12,843 female, and three transgender across its three Assembly constituencies.

The Ganderbal district has 2,08,018 registered voters, including 1,04,162 male and 1,03,856 female voters.