More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.

The number of active terrorists in the valley is at its lowest in the last 34 years, General Officer Commanding of Chinar Corps Lieutenant General A D S Aujla said.

"So, there was no infiltration of any Afghani Taliban... To that effect, we have been able to control (things)," he said.

Dar was appointed as a daily wage employee in the state Health Department and has been on election duty since Wednesday.

2016 saw the worst unrest in the Kashmir valley in 26 years.

Fifty-six-year-old Piccard, who completed the first non-stop flight around the world in an air balloon in 1999, said he and his team were hopeful of getting permission for landing in the two Indian cities.