After intense campaigning by political parties, which witnessed no-holds-barred attacks against leaders, voting began in 91 Lok Sabha constituencies across 20 states and Union Territories on Thursday in the first of the mega seven-phase electoral exercise.
Voting for Assembly polls will also be held in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and some seats in Odisha simultaneously.
The eight constituencies in western UP that go to polls will be closely watched as there is a lot riding on the outcome. Three Central ministers, General V K Singh, Mahesh Sharma and Satyapal Singh, and one former minister, Sanjeev Balyan, are fighting to retain their seats. The April 11 poll will be the first major test of whether the Gathbandhan of Mayawati’s BSP, Akhilesh Yadav’s SP, and Ajit’s RLD actually work on the ground.
Also, a total of 14 parliamentary constituencies out of 25 in the eight northeastern states will vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls.
An 11.43 per cent electorate cast their vote during the first two hours beginning 7 am during the first phase of polling in Jammu and Baramulla parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
In Jammu, the highest polling till 9 an was recorded in Samba district (16.52 per cent), followed by Jammu (14.12), Poonch (12.98) and Rajouri (11.88) .
In Baramulla constituency, it was Kashmiri Pandit migrants (10.24 per cent), followed by Kupwara (7.98), Bandipora (5.97), and. Baramulla (5.80).
