Terror attacks fail to dampen voters’ spirit

Rajouri, Poonch dists along LoC witness brisk voting; 79.95% turnout in Vaishno Devi

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, Updated At : 08:53 AM Sep 26, 2024 IST

People stand in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station at Mohallaha Khokran, Mendhar, in Poonch district on Wednesday. PTI

Despite several terror attacks in the past one year, Rajouri and Poonch districts along the LoC witnessed brisk voting in the second phase of the J&K Assembly elections here today. Shri Mata Vaishno Devi seat recorded the highest voter turnout (79.95%).

Far-off areas in Poonch witnessed long queues of voters early in the morning. Poonch Haveli witnessed 72.71 per cent polling, while Surankote, which is reserved for ST, witnessed 72.18 per cent polling till 5 pm. Gulabgarh in Reasi district saw 72.19 per cent polling.

There are five seats in Rajouri and three each in Poonch and Reasi.

**Voters show their inked fingers at a polling station in Nowshera, Rajouri district, on Wednesday. PTI**

Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts witnessed several terror attacks in the past one year. Due to thick vegetation and forest cover on mountainous tract, these areas become a safe haven for ultras infiltrating from Pakistan.

Sajid Malik, a shopkeeper from Rajouri, said people came out to vote in large numbers. It shows that they believe in democracy.

There was an interesting fight between BJP J&K president Ravinder Raina and National Conference (NC) candidate Surinder Kumar Choudhary in Nowshera. The seat witnessed 69 per cent polling. Raina won the elections from the constituency in 2014.

Thanamandi seat, which was reserved for ST, witnessed 68.44 per cent polling. PDP candidate Qamar Hussain, who is contesting elections from the seat, alleged that some of the polling agents were not allowed to enter the polling station.

In an official statement, the Returning Officer said elections in the Thanamandi Assembly constituency were conducted peacefully without any major disruptions.

“The allegations that PDP polling agents were not allowed to enter polling station numbers 183, 142, 139, 138, 133, and 132 are completely unfounded,” he said.

Rajouri and Poonch districts also witnessed polarisation between dominant communities of Gujjars and Paharis due to the ST status granted to the latter early this year by the Central Government. The BJP is hoping for support from Paharis.

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi seat, which is also being termed as ‘Ayodhya’ of J&K for the BJP, also witnessed an interesting fight. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a public meeting at Katra to garner support for his party. The party had faced infighting at the seat when one of its candidates Rohit Dubey was replaced with Baldev Raj Sharma.