LS Polls: Nearly 4 percent voting witnessed till 11 am in Kulgam
Srinagar: Till 11 am, 3.80 percent voting was witnessed in district Kulgam till 11 am in the second phase for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat.
Voting began at 7 am in Kulgam district’s four assembly segments — Noorabad, Devsar, Kulgam and Homshalibugh.
Reports said that at the Laram polling station in Homshalibugh, voting was delayed for about 40 minutes due to a faulty Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) which poll authorities said was being replaced.
Meanwhile, there are 18 candidates in the fray in this constituency, but the main contest is between Mehbooba Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ghulam Ahmad Mir of Congress and Justice (Retired) Hasnain Masoodi of the National Conference (NC).
BJP has has fielded Sofi Yusuf and the People’s Conference (PC), Choudhary Zafar Ali. In addition, there is a lone woman candidate, Ridwana Sanam who is contesting as an Independent.
Moreover, for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, a non-local Shams Khwaja, a lawyer from Uttar Pradesh is also contesting.
Meanwhile, a complete shutdown is being observed in the district. Authorities have also suspended mobile Internet services. Train service, from Banihal to Baramulla, which passes through Kulgam district has also been suspended as a precautionary measure.