Srinagar: Just 8.3 per cent of the electorate voted in the first-phase of the urban local body polls in militancy-wracked Kashmir Valley, while Kargil recorded the highest turnout of 78 per cent, an official said Monday.
Polling in 83 wards of the valley began at 7 am and ended at 4 pm amidst tight security. “Only 7,057 voters of the 84,692 eligible persons turned up to vote in the wards which went to polls Monday. The polling was by and large peaceful,” the official said.
The polls to urban local bodies in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in four phases with the first completed Monday.
For ensuring security of candidates, they were moved to safe locations and their details were not made public.
The election authorities also kept the identities of the contesting candidates from the valley secret due to security reasons, prompting the people to term these polls as ‘secret elections’. (PTI)
