Jammu and Kashmir registered brisk 34 per cent polling till noon as voters braved the cold and turned up at polling booths for the first of the five-phase assembly elections in the state. Jharkhand, which is also voting in five-phases, registered a little over 48 per cent turnout till 1 pm. The BJP hopes to replicate in these states, its success in the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections last month.
Following are the latest developments:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted this morning, "As polls begin in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, I urge my sisters and brothers in these states to go out and vote in large numbers," and also, "I particularly call upon my young friends in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand to come out in large numbers and cast their votes."
Voters lined up in biting cold much before polling began today in Jammu and Kashmir, where voting is being held in 15 of 87 assembly seats - six in the Jammu division, five segments in the Kashmir valley and four in Ladakh.Polling was briefly disrupted at Barsoo in Ganderbal district after clashes broke out between two groups.
The BJP has said it is aiming at an unprecedented majority - the party calls it the mission 50 plus - and has for the first time fielded candidates for most of the 87 seats.
Elections are being held in 13 of the 81 seats in Jharkhand today, spread over six districts that are described as "Maoist-affected" - Palamau, Gumla, Lohardaga, Chatra, Garhwa and Latehar. The BJP is contesting 12 seats today and most of Jharkhand's 81 seats in total.
The Congress was part of the ruling alliance in both states with regional parties and in both, broke away just before the elections - from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in October and Omar Abdullah's National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir in July.
In the national elections this year, the BJP registered its best performance ever in Jammu and Kashmir, winning three of six seats. The Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party had won the others, with the Congress-National Conference alliance routed. In Jharkhand, the BJP had won 12 of the 14 parliamentary seats.
In the run-up to the elections, the BJP has tried to draw in former separatists and fringe groups in Jammu and Kashmir. Sajjad Lone, a former separatist and chief of the People's Conference, met PM Modi in Delhi. He has not ruled out a post-election alliance with the BJP.
The BJP's top guns have campaigned in both states including PM Modi, party chief Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. For the Congress, party president Sonia Gandhi campaigned in both states. Her son and deputy Rahul Gandhi is expected to campaign in J&K today for the next phases.
In J&K, there was no militancy-related incident reported from any of the 15 constituencies voting today during the campaign. Separatist groups like all factions of the Hurriyat Conference and JKLF (Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front) have called for a boycott of the polls and called for a general strike.
Elections in both states will be held in five phases and votes will be counted on December 23.
