Chandigarh : Amid tight security arrangements, polling began on Wednesday morning in the Anantnag Assembly constituency for the byelection where the Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is contesting to enter the State Legislative Assembly, after she took over as CM on April 4.
An electorate of over 85,000 will decide the fate of Mufti and seven other candidates. The byelection was necessitated following the death of former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7.
The polling which started at 7 am began on a moderate note with late arrival of voters at polling booths due to the holy fasting month of Ramzan. During the first two hours, the polling percentage was recorded at about 5 to 10 per cent, and later it picked up. The polling will continue till 7 pm.
Mufti was among several other candidates visiting polling stations in different areas of the constituency to oversee the poll process. She visited a number of polling stations in Kehribal and Wantrag villages in the foothills near Mattan on the outskirts of Anantnag. She, however, declined to comment on the ongoing poll process. She is pitted against seven other candidates, including those from the opposition National Conference and Congress. The polling was going on amid tight security as the separatist organisations had called for a boycott of the elections. The town wore a deserted look as all shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the road. The main town of Anantnag, the district headquarters in south Kashmir, which mainly comprises the Assembly constituency, is dotted with police and security personnel guarding the 100-odd polling stations. Some of the rural areas on the periphery of the town also form a part of the Assembly constituency. There are 102 polling stations at 63 locations, which include 52 as hyper-sensitive (militancy-infested areas) and 50 (law and order situation) others as sensitive polling stations.