At least 65.9 percent polling was recorded in the nine constituencies that went to polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

 

Voters turned out in good numbers in many polling stations of Ganderbal constituency from where the National Conference (NC) president Omar Abdullah is fighting elections against nine other candidates including Qazi Mohammad Afzal of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Sheikh Mohammad Ashfaq of the Congress party.

 

Long queues of voters, including many women, were seen in the Lar tehsil of the Ganderbal constituency to which both the PDP and Congress candidates belong.

 

Senior NC leader Mian Altaf Ahmad, is seeking re-election from Kangan constituency and he is poised against Bashir Ahmad Mir of the PDP besides eight other candidates.

 

Voting

in both constituencies began on a low key but picked up in the afternoon as temperature rose breaking the morning chill.

 

Omar Abdullah faces a challenge in the Ganderbal constituency which he lost in 2002 elections to the PDP candidate, Qazi Mohammad Afzal who is again pitted against him in the constituency.

 

Groups of protesters raised anti-poll slogans and stone pelted the polling station at Barsoo and at Kurhama village in Ganderbal, where police and paramilitary central reserve police force (CRPF) had to intervene with batons to restore order.

 

"Polling was later resumed at the Kurhama polling station," a senior police officer said here.

 

Anti-poll protests were also held near Duderhama and Beehama polling stations.