Srinagar: An estimated 28 per cent of the nearly five-lakh-strong electorate on Sunday exercised their franchise till noon in the second phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir even as police fired in the air to disperse two warring factions in Darhal constituency.

The police action came at a polling station in Darhal to disperse activists of National Conference (NC) and an independent candidate who clashed and pelted stones at each other, a senior police officer said, adding that two persons were injured.

There was also disruption of balloting in Darhal, one of the six constituencies that went to polls, as the independent candidate alleged booth capturing by NC workers. There were also reports of minor clashes between PDP and NC workers in Darhal and Rajouri.

Ganderbal, where National Conference chief Omar Abdullah is locked in a multi-cornered battle, registered a slow voting pace with only 16 per cent of the electorate turning up at the polling stations till noon, apparently due to the cold wave conditions.

Kangan constituency, also in Ganderbal district, had a comparatively better pace of voting, where 19 per cent turn out was recorded till noon.

The four other constituencies of Nowshera, Kalakote, Rajouri and Darhal in Rajouri district recorded brisk polling since morning, officials monitoring the polls said.

They said Nowshera and Darhal accounted for 35 and 34 per cent polling respectively, while it was 33 per cent in Rajouri and 31 per cent in Kalakote till noon.

People were seen standing in long queues in most of the assembly segments in Rajouri and Ganderbal districts to exercise their franchise.

As many as 4,93,878 voters are eligible to cast their ballot at 530 polling booths in Ganderbal, Kangan, Nowshera, Darhal, Rajouri and Kalakote constituencies in the second phase of assembly elections.

There were some complaints of defects in Electronic Voting Machines in Nowshera and Kalakote Assembly segments, election department officials said, adding that they were replaced later.

The electoral fortunes of 81 candidates, including Abdullah and former PDP minister Qazi Mohammad Afzal, will be decided today.

The fate of Ghulam Ahmad Rather (Cong), Radhay Sham Sharma (NC), Romesh Chander Sharma (Cong), NC rebels Choudhary Talib Hussain and Mohammad Sharief Tariq and Congress rebel Ashok Kumar Sharma will also be decided in this phase.

Abdullah is locked in a triangular contest with PDP's Afzal and Sheikh Ishfaq Ahmad of Congress though there are nine others also in the fray. The former minister had defeated Abdullah in 2002.

As many as 97 companies of the paramilitary forces have been deployed in 530 polling stations in the two districts.
Source : DNA