51% polling in 1st phase, Valley sees 40% turnout

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 28

In the first democratic process since it became a union territory (UT) last year, Jammu and Kashmir today witnessed peaceful polling in the first of the District Development Council (DDC) election with an average voter turnout of 51.76 per cent.

J&K Election Commissioner KK Sharma said the polling process passed off peacefully, except for a stray incident of stone-throwing in Kulgam, of which the police have taken cognisance. Out of 3.62 lakh electorates, 1.93 lakh were men while 1.79 lakh were women, he said. While the Jammu division registered 64.2 per cent polling, the Kashmir division saw 40.6 per cent turnout, Sharma said.

In the volatile areas of south Kashmir, where a low voter turnout was expected, Pulwama witnessed less than 7 per cent in the first phase, while Shopian, which witnesses highest number of counter-insurgency operations, recorded 42.58 per cent voter turnout.

The polling began at 7 am amid biting cold, but gained momentum as the day progressed, poll officials said.

The election happens to be the first test for the Centre’s move to restart the political process after the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into the union territories of J&K and Ladakh last August. “An elaborate security cover has been laid in and around polling booths,” a senior state election commission official said.

Exit poll after last phase, says panel

Jammu: The State Election Commission (SEC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday imposed restrictions on exit polls till the end of the eight-phase DDC election. An order to this effect was issued by State Election Commissioner KK Sharma here, an official spokesman said. The DDC elections along with panchayat bypolls commenced in J&K on Saturday. “In exercise of powers conferred under Section 36 of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, the Election Authority (State Election Commission) hereby prohibits conducting any exit poll and publishing or publicising/ displaying the result of exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner in the ongoing elections till 2 pm on December 19,” Sharma said in the order. PTI

Covid safety norms thrown to the wind

Ganderbal: Covid guidelines were flouted at some polling stations in the Valley and excitement overtook precautions as enthusiastic voters jostled with each other to cast their ballot. From not maintaining adequate distance while standing in queues to basking in the lawns, the voters flouted the pandemic guidelines openly. Most of them were without masks. Though health officials were deployed at polling booths to check the temperature of the voters, sanitisers and masks were not available at several places. PTI