Barring a few incidents of booth capturing/violence, voting was held peacefully in Rajouri district.

GNS ONLINE NEWS PORTAL

SHYAM SOOD

Above 71% polling recorded in Rajouri district.
An officer of SF fired a single pistol round in Darhal to control a scuffle between supporters.

RAJOURI SEPT 25:–Much awaited elections for 5 Assembly Constituencies of Rajouri district conducted peacefully & smoothly on Thursday (September 25)- barring few incidents of booth capturing and clashes between supporters of candidates- under tight security arrangements.
According to the latest report bumper polling above 71% has been reported in all the five constituencies.
83-Kalakote-Sunderbani constituency recorded 68.81% polling while 84-Nowshera constituency recorded 72.91% polling.
Ravinder Raina, State BJP President is facing NC’s candidate former MLC Surinder Choudhry in this constituency.
Another prestigious 85-Rajouri constituency (ST) recorded 70.56% polling and in this constituency the direct contest is between BJP’s Vibodh Gupta and Congress candidate Iftikhar and the result would be very close.
86-Budhal Constituency recorded 70.14% polling and a neck-to-neck fight is expected between Mama (uncle) former minister Ch Zulfikar Ali and Bhanja (nephew), BDC member Javaid Iqbal.
The highest polling of 72.92% was recorded in newly created 87-Thanamandi Constituency and the triangular contest is expected in this constituency between BJP’s Mohd Iqbal Malik (retd bureaucrat),
Congress candidate Adv Shabir Khan (former minister) and independent candidate Muzaffar Iqbal Khan (retd judge).
Following information about rigging, aphyscal vladh occured between BJP and NC supporters in Damidhar area of Rajouri Municipal Council.
Later BJP supporters blocked road outside police station demanding action against NC supporters involved in rigging & attack on them.
Dinesh Sharma BJP district President said the police have booked some miscreants for further action.
In the second phase of elections to the J&K Legislative Assembly, voters queued up in long lines at the polling stations even at the polling booths established beyond the border fence.
CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had maintained a constant supervision of the polling process to ensure that the polling took place in an incident free manner.
CEC Rajiv Kumar said that these elections are “history in the making”, the echoes of which will be carried through posterity.
He added that the valleys and the mountains which had once witnessed fear and boycott, are now taking part in the democratic festivities or “Jashn-e-Jamhuriyat.Strong security measures were in place creating a. conducive environment for voters to cast their vote without fear or intimidation.
Webcasting was in place in all polling stations to ensure transparency of the voting process.
“Young voters reflected the aspirations of peace, democracy and progress as first time voters proudly showcased their inked fingers after voting. A total of over 1.2 lakh electors are in the age of 18-19 for phase 2,” said CEC.
Accessibility is one of the key pillars of the voting experience that ECI is committed to. One polling station in each AC was manned by Persons with Disabilities. 26 Polling Stations were managed by women.
Voters inhabiting the areas near the border were also empowered to exercise their franchise at 51 Border Polling Stations set up near the LoC in Nowshera, Rajouri, and Thanamandi constituencies.