Over five per cent of the nearly seven lakh voters reached polling booths to cast their vote during the first two hours, till 9 am, in the first-ever electoral exercise since the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s limited-autonomy.
Indian Express reported that in the novel District Development Council polls, the voting was brisk in Jammu, which has recorded an over 15 per cent voter turnover so far.
The enthusiasm was high among voters, especially West Pakistani refugees, who were casting their votes in the local body polls for the first time following the abrogation of Article 370, reported the newspaper.
“For the first time, I have felt I am a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir,” Pritam Lal, 60, a West Pakistan refugee living in Akhnoor tehsil told the newspaper. While 124 candidates, including 30 females, are in the fray in 18 constituencies in Jammu division, there are 172 candidates, including 59 females, contesting the polls at 25 places in the Kashmir Valley.
