Polling in the Udhampur-Doda parliamentary seat passed off peacefully on Thursday with 45 per cent turnout being recorded from the constituency.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer B R Sharma said, “Polling in the Udhampur-Doda constituency, in which much of the terrain was hilly, remained incident-free and touched 45 per cent mark.”

Giving a break up of the polling figures in different Assembly segments, Sharma said that in the Kishtawar, 55 per cent polling was recorded, in Inderwal it was around 42 per cent, in Doda it was 33 per cent, in Bhaderwah it touched 57 per cent, in Ramban 34 per cent, in Banihal 33 per cent, in Gulabgarh 67 per cent, in Reasi 42 per cent, in Gool-Arnas 45 per cent, in Udhampur 41 per cent, in Chenani 41 per cent, in Ramnagar 37 per cent, in Bani 45 per cent, in Basholi 65 per cent, in Kathua 54 per cent, in Billawar 47 per cent and in Hiranagar it was 53 per cent.

Gujjars in Kathua boycotted the polling at the Sarthal booth. At another polling station of Nagri in Ramban district, the voters initially boycotted the polls complaining of lack of basic facilities, but after the intervention of the district administration, they turned up to cast their votes.

The Election Commission and the police rejected the reports that some political parties were trying to influence the voters by offering them the liquor and the ride up to the polling stations.

“We didn’t find any such case in which the voters were bribed by any of the political parties,” said, Inspector General of Police, K Rajendra.

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