Voting peaceful, 44% turnout till afternoon – JK Poll

Undeterred by the recent spurt in militant attacks, an estimated 44 percent voters exercised their franchise till afternoon for 16 constituencies in the third round of the five-phased Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls.

Ignoring calls for poll boycott and braving cold weather, the voters lined up at 1,781 polling stations to seal the fate of 144 candidates including chief minister Omar Abdullah and three of his cabinet colleagues.

Barring a petrol bomb attack by some unidentified persons at a polling station in Gulmarg, the polling was by and large peaceful in all the 16 constituencies in Budgam, Pulwama and Baramulla districts of north, south and central Kashmir.

Sixty-two per cent polling was registered till 2pm in Baramulla district’s Uri border town which witnessed the deadly attack on an army camp Friday leaving 11 security force personnel and six militants dead.

Gulmarg constituency, also in Baramulla, saw 57 percent polling till 2 PM followed by Chrar-e-Sharief (55.40), Khan Sahib (54.90), Rafiabad (51.0), Chadoora (49.84) and Beerwah (47.98), officials said.

Budgam recorded 47.96 per cent voting, Sangrama (43.0), Rajpora (40.25), Pattan (38.77), Pampore (37.93) and Baramulla (33.74), they said.

Sopore constituency, the home town of hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who is spearheading the poll boycott campaign, recorded 25.42 per cent polling till 2pm.

In 2008, 19.95 per cent polling was witnessed in this constituency, the officials said.

Tral assembly segment in south Kashmir, also a hot bed of militancy, recorded 28.67 percent polling till 2pm, they said.

The constituency recorded 48.69 per cent turnout in 2008.