Polling begins on dull note in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag

Voting began Tuesday on a dreary note in Anantnag district of  Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency, where polling will be held in three legs, amidst tight security measures, officials said.

Residents in most parts of the district in restive south Kashmir have stayed indoors so far, an official said.  

While polling is underway in Anantnag district, voting in Kulgam district will be held on April 29 while Pulwama and Shopian districts will go to polls on May 6.

The Election Commission has curtailed the polling duration for Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency by two hours following a request from the state police to this effect. 

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The voting will be held in south Kashmir areas from 7 am to 4 pm. The Anantnag district has 5,29,256 electors including 2,69,603 males, 2,57,540 females, 2,102 service electors and 11 transgender voters. 

The EC has also established 1,842 polling stations to facilitate smooth polling, the official said. 

The Anantnag constituency has 13,97,272 registered voters including 7,20,337 males, 672879 females and 35 transgender voters. 

There are 18 candidates in the fray for Anantnag constituency including PDP president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti. 

The Congress has fielded its state president Ghulam Ahmad Mir while former High Court judge Hasnain Masoodi is contesting on the National Conference ticket. The other prominent candidate in the fray is former MLC Sofi Yousuf  of BJP

A week ago, stones were pelted on PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti's convoy in Anantnag during her return from a shrine at Khirram in Anantnag district to pay her obeisance and was returning to Bijbehara when the incident took place, officials notified. 

It was reported that one of the spare vehicles in the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister's motorcade was damaged in the stone-throwing and the driver was hurt, while others in the entourage, including the PDP president, escaped unhurt.

Mehbooba Mufti is contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha election from the Anantnag seat, which she had won in 2014. The south Kashmir constituency, spread over the four districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian, is going to the polls in three phases from April 29 to May 6.

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Polling percentage recorded as of 9 am for the third phase of Lok Sabha 2019 elections

• Assam-12.36% 
• Bihar-12.60%
• Goa-2.29%
• Gujarat-1.35%
• J&K-0.00%
• K'taka-1.75%
• Kerala-2.48%
• Maharashtra-0.99%
• Odisha-1.32%
• Tripura-1.56%
• UP-6.84%
• West Bengal-10.97%
• Chhattisgarh-2.24%
• Dadra and Nagar Haveli-0.00%
• Daman and Diu-5.83%
   

(With PTI inputs)