Brisk polling for Baramulla LS seat, Ladakh also witnesses enthusiasm

(Photo:SNS)


Brisk voting is being witnessed in the Baramulla border Lok Sabha constituency in North Kashmir where 21.56 per cent polling was recorded till 11am.

On the other hand, the cold desert region of Ladakh was also witnessing enthusiasm among the electorate and 27.87per cent votes were cast in the first two hours till 11 am for the Ladakh parliamentary seat.

The Kargil district of Ladakh recorded 29.7 per cent voting, while in the Buddhist dominated Leh district 25.9 per cent votes were cast till 11 am.

Long queues were seen outside the polling booths across the Baramulla constituency where the former chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah is locked in a contest with the chairman of the Peoples Conference Sajjad Lone. Besides, there are 20 others also in the fray.

It is a triangular contest in Ladakh where candidates of the national parties, Tashi Gyalson (BJP) and Tsering Namgyal (Congress) are facing a stiff challenge from an independent and National Conference (NC) rebel Haji Hanifa Jan.

While Gyalson and Namgyal are Buddhists belonging to the Leh district, Jan is a Shia Muslim of Kargil which has turned the contest nail-biting one.

Of the total number of 1.84 lakh voters in Ladakh, 95,926 are in the Kargil district and 88,877 in Leh.