LEH : Voting in frontier Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir which started on a dull note this morning, picked up gradually with over 40 per cent of nearly 1.61 lakh electorate exercising their franchise till 2 PM.
Polling in the four assembly constituencies of Leh, Kargil, Nobra and Zanaskar in the region which recorded sub-zero temperatures, commenced in the morning along with 11 other constituencies spread over different districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Nobra was leading the four constituencies in the poll percentage with 56.46 per cent of 13,054 electorate exercising their right of franchise till noon, election officials said.
As many as 32.34 per cent of 59,440 voters cast their ballots in Kargil, which emerged as the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 9.2 degrees Celsius.
Zanaskar registered 38.15 per cent turnout till 2 PM while Leh, which recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.6 degrees Celsius, witnessed a turn out of 34.14 per cent.
Zanaskar has a total strength of 20,696 voters, while Leh constituency has the highest number of 67,736 electorate in the region.
Ladakh, which is the largest Lok Sabha constituency in the country in terms of area, usually witnesses high voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the last assembly polls, nearly 70 per cent of electorate had exercised their franchise in the region.
Owing to sub-zero temperature, though the voters took time to reach their concerned polling stations but as they progressed they were enthusiastically seen waiting in serpentine queues to cast their votes.
In Leh, BJP MP Thupstan Chhewang and party candidate
Chhering Dorjay were among the first voters. The BJP leaders cast their votes at Sanker Polling station in the town.
BJP’s Dorjay is contesting from Leh constituency against the state Minister and Congress candidate Nawang Rigzin Jora who is seeking re-election from the constituency for the third term.
In Nobra Assembly constituency, six candidates are in the fray including Stanzin Delik (BJP), Tashi Gyalson (PDP), Tsetan Namgyal (NC), Deldan Namgail (Congress) and Tsewang Rigzin and Nissar Hussain (both independents).
Four candidates – Asgar Ali Karbalaie (Congress), Abdul Aziz (BJP), Anayat Ali (PDP) and Kacho Mohammad Hussain (NC)-are in fray from Kargil, while four candidates – Stanzin Lakpa (BJP), Ghulam Raza (Congress), Ghulam Mohammad (PDP) and Syed Mohammad Baqir Rizvi (Independent) – are trying their luck from Zanaskar assembly constituency. (AGENCIES)
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