With voting for the second phase of elections to J&K Legislative Assembly gaining huge momentum, polling stations of 26 Assembly Constituencies across six districts of Jammu & Kashmir recorded an impressive 36.93 per cent voter turnout till 1 pm, said the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K on Wednesday.
After a slow beginning, polling picked up in all eight constituencies of the Srinagar district. Areas along the LoC in the Jammu region continue to witness heavy polling.
The polling started at 7:00 AM in all 3,502 polling stations across 26 Assembly Constituencies of six districts — Ganderbal, Srinagar & Budgam in Kashmir Division; and Reasi, Rajouri & Poonch in Jammu Division.
Earlier, mock drills were also conducted in all the polling stations.
From early morning, long queues of enthusiastic voters are being witnessed, waiting for their turn to exercise their right to franchise.
In this phase, 25,78,099 lakh voters — 13,12,730 lakh male, 12,65,316 lakh female and 53 third-gender — are eligible to cast their ballot.
This phase will determine the fate of 239 candidates.
District Administrations have made elaborate arrangements at all the polling stations for free, fair and transparent elections, said an official.