Inspite of the killing of a woman candidate by unidentified gunmen ahead of the polling, the second phase of Jammu and Kashmir panchayat elections witnessed a brisk 82 per cent voter turnout on Sunday.
No violence or any other untoward incident was reported from anywhere during the polling, officials here said. Polling was held to elect 275 sarpanchs and 2031 panchs in eight blocks of Kupwara, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Budgam and Kulgam districts in the Kashmir Valley and Udhampur, Samba and Jammu districts in Jammu division. The panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir are being held after a gap of over a decade and have attracted tremendous response from the people despite a boycott call issued by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. In Budgam where 45-year-old Hasina Begum, elected unopposed, was gunned down by assailants on Friday night as many as 77 per cent voters turned up at the polling stations braving the torrential rains on Sunday.
Even though it is still unclear whether the woman candidate was gunned down by separatist militants in their attempt to sabotage the poll process or in a family feud, the incident has given rise to fear among many of those in the fray.
Soon after the killing, at least, five candidates withdrew from the contest and many others approached the authorities pleading for security cover.