Record 70 pc turnout in J&K

Jammu/Srinagar, Polling ended peacefully on Tuesday in 15 Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir that voted in the first phase of the five-phase Assembly elections, officials said.

“No major incident of violence has been reported from anywhere,” a poll official said in Jammu.

Record 70 per cent turnout was recorded. Election commission officials, however, said the percentage was likely to change as the final figures were yet to be received.

Although polling ended at 4 pm, voters who entered the polling station by that time are entitled to vote.

Twelve sitting MLAs, including seven ministers, are among 123 candidates trying their luck in the 15 constituencies that went to polls in all three regions of the state.

A total of 10,502,50 voters, including 5,49,698 males and 5,00,539 females, besides 13 transgenders were eligible to exercise their right to franchise in the first phase of the polls.

Nearly 1900 polling stations had been set up by election authorities in these 15 constituencies.

Many star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi campaigned for their party candidates for the first phase of polls.

While Modi addressed a rally in Kishtwar, Rajnath tried to garner support for BJP candidates in Leh and Bhaderwah constituencies and party president Amit Shah campaigned in Ramban.

Sonia addressed two rallies in Bandipora and Ramban, while Bollywood actor-turned politician Raj Babbar addressed rallies in Bandipora, Sonawari and Ganderbal constituencies.

The other star campaigners include Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his party the National Conference (NC), PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and party president Mehbooba Mufti, Ambika Soni and Ghulam Nabi Azad for Congress.

The campaigning for the first phase remained by and large peaceful. However, there were minor clashes in Sonawari, when the PDP candidate Yasir Reshi was pelted with stones by some miscreants.

There was no militancy-related incident reported from any of the 15 constituencies going to polls.

The separatist groups like all factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF have called for a boycott of the polls and called for a general strike as well.

— Agencies