28 per cent turn out in J&K second phase polls till noon

Srinagar/Jammu, Nov 23 (PTI) An estimated 28 per cent
of the nearly five-lakh-strong electorate Sunday exercised
their franchise till noon in the second phase of assembly
polls in Jammu and Kashmir Sunday even as police fired in the
air to disperse two warring factions in Darhal constituency.

The police action came at a polling station in Darhal
to disperse activists of National Conference (NC) and an
independent candidate who clashed and pelted stones at each
other, a senior police officer said, adding that two persons
were injured.

There was also disruption of balloting in Darhal, one
of the six constituencies that went to polls Sunday, as the
independent candidate alleged booth capturing by NC workers.
There were also reports of minor clashes between People's
Democratic Party and NC workers in Darhal and Rajouri.

Ganderbal, where National Conference chief Omar
Abdullah is locked in a multi-cornered battle, registered a
slow voting pace with only 16 per cent of the electorate
turning up at the polling stations till noon, apparently due
to the cold wave conditions.

Kangan constituency, also in Ganderbal district, had a
comparatively better pace of voting, where 19 per cent turn
out was recorded till noon.

The four other constituencies of Nowshera, Kalakote,
Rajouri and Darhal in Rajouri district recorded brisk polling
since morning, officials monitoring the polls said.

They said Nowshera and Darhal accounted for 35 and 34
per cent polling respectively, while it was 33 per cent in
Rajouri and 31 per cent in Kalakote till noon.

People were seen standing in long queues in most of
the assembly segments in Rajouri and Ganderbal districts to
exercise their franchise.

As many as 4,93,878 voters are eligible to cast their
ballot at 530 polling booths in Ganderbal, Kangan, Nowshera,
Darhal, Rajouri and Kalakote constituencies in the second
phase of assembly elections.

There were some complaints of defects in Electronic
Voting Machines in Nowshera and Kalakote Assembly segments,
election department officials said, adding that they were
replaced later.

The electoral fortunes of 81 candidates, including
Abdullah and former PDP minister Qazi Mohammad Afzal, will be
decided today.

The fate of Ghulam Ahmad Rather (Cong), Radhay Sham
Sharma (NC), Romesh Chander Sharma (Cong), NC rebels Choudhary
Talib Hussain and Mohammad Sharief Tariq and Congress rebel
Ashok Kumar Sharma will also be decided in this phase.

Abdullah is locked in a triangular contest with PDP's
Afzal and Sheikh Ishfaq Ahmad of Congress though there are
nine others also in the fray. The former minister had defeated
Abdullah in 2002.

As many as 97 companies of the paramilitary forces
have been deployed in 530 polling stations in the two
districts. PTI AMS
RKM
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