Polling, boycott go together in Baramulla

39% voter turnout in Bla segment, 65% in Ladakh: CEO

Amid poll boycott and clashes at several places, the north Kashmir’s Baramulla-Kupwara parliamentary segment Wednesday recorded an overall polling percentage of 39.6 while Ladakh witnessed the voter turnout of 65 percent, officials said.
Addressing a press conference here this evening, the J&K’s Chief Electoral Officer UmangNarula said 39.6 percent polling was recorded in Kupwara-Baramulla parliamentary seat, which is spread over three districts viz. Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora, with 15 Assembly segments. 
A total number of 19 candidates were in fray for the constituency including National Conference’s Sharief-ud-Din Shariq, Peoples Democratic Party’s MuzaffarHussainBaig, Peoples Conference’s Salam-ud-Din Bajad and AwamiIthad Party chairman Er Abdul Rashid. 
 “These figures are tentative as we are yet to receive polling figures from some polling stations,” Narula said. 
“Can’t give the break-up of Ladakh because it is far 
and polling culminated there at 6 pm,” he said. Four candidates were in fray for the Ladakh parliamentary constituency. 
Narula gave the district-wise polling break-up as: Baramulla 25.04 percent, Bandipora 35.65 percent, and Kupwara 63.19 percent. 
Narula said in Assembly segments in North Kashmir, the lowest polling was recorded in Sopore (1.02 percent). He gave the break-up of other Assembly segments as: Karnah 70.57 percent,  Kupwara 60.29 percent, Lolab 57.37 percent, Handwara 69.92 percent, Langate 47.84 percent, Uri 65.42 percent, Rafiabad 21.83 percent, Sangrama 18.87 percent, Baramulla  23.46 percent, Gurez 29.50 percent, Pattan 23.65 percent, Gulmarg 29.50 percent, Bandipora 20.05 percent and Sonawari 49.02 percent. 
Narula said 2147 polling stations were set up across the two Parliamentary Constituencies, which included 132 critical and 1091 hypersensitive polling booths. He also said web-casting was done in 15 booths, besides 20 digital as well as 92 video cameras were installed for covering the voting process.
He said both constituencies comprised 13,57321 voters including 710105 male and 647180 female.
Narula was flanked by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Shalinder Kumar and Inspector General of Police Kashmir, Abdul Ghani Mir. “We had made elaborate security arrangements for the elections today and the day was by and large peaceful,” he said.
Answering a query about the shifting of polling booths from old Baramulla town to civil and closing of bridges in the area,  Narula said polls were held with a strategy.  “The polling booths were set up at feasible places,” he said, but did not comment whether the polls were a difficult task than those held in 2009.   
In 2009 elections, Baramulla-Kupwara parliamentary constituency recorded 41 percent turnout.