Jammu, April 10 (IANS) A third of the voters in Jammu Lok Sabha constituency Thursday cast their ballot in the morning hours as more waited patiently for their turn at polling stations.
During the first four hours since voting started here at 7 a.m., an average of 30 percent votes had been cast.
As the temperature started to rise during the day, people in queues outside polling stations held newspapers and other articles over heads to protect themselves from the sun and the glare.
None of the enthusiastic voters chose to break the queue as more and more of them poured out. Women voters joined the queues after finishing their household chores.
Incidentally, union Health Minister and former state chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was Thursday asked to prove his identity at a polling booth.
Azad went to cast his vote at the DPS polling station at Jogi Gate area, but was refused permission by the presiding officer who demanded his identity proof.
The matter was later settled when a local Congress leader went to stand surety for Azad's identity.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders too said Azad is a senior national level leader and they did not dispute his identity.
Azad is himself fighting the elections from Udhampur Lok Sabha seat although he is registered as voter in Jammu.
Talking to media persons after casting his vote, Azad said: "The BJP has lost all hope and in frustration they are raking up issues like the abrogation of Article 370, Ram Mandir etc."
"The Congress-NC coalition in J&K will win all the six seats from here."
There was a clash between supporters of the regional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and those of the National Conference outside a polling station in Gursai village in Mendhar area of Poonch district.
Polling was largely peaceful at all other places in Jammu constituency.
The election authorities said 2,274 polling stations have been set up for the day's poll.
"Originally, we had set up 2271 polling stations, but keeping in view the voter numbers, we added three more polling stations to ensure smooth polling in the constituency," said a poll official here.
When voting started, EVMs (electronic voting machines) at over a dozen polling stations turned out to be faulty.
These EVMs were rectified by the poll staff and voters were allowed to cast their votes.
At Karalian polling station, most people said they were voting against corruption, price rise and fulfilment of promises made but not kept for ages.
Residents of Karalian village say whenever there is a violation of bilateral ceasefire agreement by Pakistan, this village has to pay heavily.
"Our crops get destroyed, cattle are not fed and children have to bunk schools. We need a prime minister who can ensure that life goes on without fear of the enemy," Nanak Chand, 45, told IANS.
There are 19 candidates in the fray here, but the main contest is between the BJP's Jugal Kishore, the Congress'se Madan Lal Sharma and Yash Pal Sharma of the PDP.
The ruling National Conference (NC), which is fighting elections in alliance with the Congress, supports Madan Lal Sharma who is seeking re-election for the third time from here.
Voting ends at 6 p.m.
Good news: Delhi's drivers will get Rs 5000 within 10 days, court orders
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday (May 29) has directed the Transport Department of Delhi to deposit Rs 5000 in the bank accounts of non-chip PSV badge holders within 10 days. An NGO had filed
Bhuvan Bam: 'He was always in my mind during dubbing', says Bhuvan on replacing Javed Jaffrey in Takeshi Castle
The content creator and actor Bhuvan Bam is ready to create a stir among the audience once again with 'Takeshi Castle'. The popular Japanese show from the 90s recently made a comeback on Amazon Prime
Why Russia happy with India is now angry with Indian media
Russia has welcomed the stand of the Indian government so far regarding Russia's attack on Ukraine but is angry with India's media.
Another blast of Amazon Prime in June with 'The Family Man 2', Vidya Balan's film to be released
Streaming platform Amazon Prime Video has made full arrangements for the blast in the summer of June. The buzz has already begun regarding the release of the highly popular series The Family Man 2 in
Politics on drugs recovered in Punjab: Arvind Kejriwal asked- The owner of the drug business in Gujarat is silent; 38KG heroin was seized
Politics has started on 38 kg heroin recovered from Nawanshahr in Punjab. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal has targeted the Gujarat government. Kejriwal asked who is the owner of the
Hamas Israel Conflict: Hamas attacks family, boy survives; death of parents
Deadly attacks continue between Hamas and Israel. Meanwhile, an Israeli-American teenager survived a siege on his home by Hamas attackers over the weekend. His parents saved him from the bullets
IPL: When Sourav Ganguly told Shoaib Akhtar on dismissing Sachin Tendulkar - people will kill you
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar got a chance to play in the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Akhtar was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team in the 2008 IPL. The
Big blow to Team India before T20 World Cup, Jasprit Bumrah is out, know which bowler can get his place
T20 World Cup 2022 is now less than a month away and in the meantime Team India has suffered a major setback. Star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out due to injury in the Asia Cup 2022,
IND vs PAK: Whether Pakistan will come to India to play World Cup or not, the new PCB chief reacted
Since October till now, the tussle between BCCI and PCB is not taking its name. After the statement of BCCI Secretary Jai Shah on the decision not to go to Pakistan in the Asia Cup, there is a
Samsung Galaxy A13 and A23 launched in India, Galaxy M33 5G will knock on this day
Samsung has launched 2 new cheap smartphones Samsung Galaxy A13 And Galaxy A23 4G in India. Both the phones have Full HD+ displays and run on Google's Android 12 version. These have an octa-core