Jammu and Kashmir recorded a 71.1% polling in the second phase of panchayat polls on Tuesday.
Despite the cold wave in the Valley and Ladakh, voters queued up outside the booths since the morning. “An overwhelming 80.4% polling was witnessed in the Jammu division and 52.2% in the Kashmir division,” Chief Electoral Officer Shaleen Kabra said.
Kupwara in north Kashmir registered the highest 69.7%, while Anantnag in the south, once the bastion of Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, saw just 1% polling. “Voters here are dejected about the failure of the Centre and the State to adopt a policy to resolve the political problem of Kashmir. Even the PDP is hated by many for allying with the BJP. Besides, daily killings of civilians and militants also made participation in the polls difficult,” Ghulam Muhammad Dar, a resident of Anantnag, said.
Kargil recorded a 66.5% polling and Leh 66.3%, with election staff trekking over snow to deploy ballot boxes at an altitude of 4,870 metres in areas such as Lingshed.
A total of 4,014 candidates are in the fray for 281 sarpanch seats and 1,286 panch seats. “Ninety sarpanchs and 1,069 panchs were declared elected unopposed,” Mr. Kabra said.
Kashmir witnessed a 64.5% polling and Jammu 79.4% in the first phase.
