Jammu And Kashmir Assembly Elections: More than 56 percent of voters exercised their franchise in the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections held for 26 seats on Wednesday. Officials said that the voting was peaceful amid tight security. Long queues of voters were seen at polling stations since morning in key constituencies of 26 seats in six districts, but in 20 of these areas, the turnout was slightly less than in the 2014 assembly elections, when the total voting was 60 percent. About 61.38 percent of voting took place in the first phase of elections held on September 18. The final phase of voting will be held on October 1. Assembly elections are being held after 10 years.

56.05 percent voting in the second phase

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole told a press conference that 56.05 percent of voting took place in the second phase. He said that the voting percentage may change with the updates coming from some places like Hazratbal and Reasi. He said, overall the voting was peaceful. There were some sporadic incidents, but there is no need for re-poll anywhere.

The highest voter turnout was recorded in the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi constituency, where 79.95 percent of registered voters exercised their franchise. Other constituencies included Kangan (71.89 percent), Gulabgarh (73.49 percent), and Surankot (75.11 percent). The Election Commission had set up 3,502 polling stations for this phase. Of these, 1,056 were in urban areas while 2,446 were set up in rural areas, officials said. Over 15,000 personnel, including local police and central paramilitary forces, were deployed to maintain order at the polling stations.

A 16-member delegation of foreign ambassadors reached the valley.

During the second phase, a 16-member delegation of foreign ambassadors visited the valley to observe the voting. These included diplomats from the US, Norway, and Singapore. This is the first time since the spread of terrorism that international observers were allowed to observe elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Jurgen K. Andrews, deputy chief of the US mission in Delhi, said the voting process looked healthy and democratic.

"It was great to see the enthusiasm of the voters. It is great to see Kashmiris voting after a gap of 10 years. We are excited to see the results. It looks very healthy and democratic," Andrews said at a polling station in Srinagar. The Ministry of External Affairs had invited a delegation of diplomats from 16 countries to take stock of the voting process. However, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticized the move and said that elections in Jammu and Kashmir are an internal matter of the country.

Abdullah raised questions

"When governments of other countries comment on it, the Indian government says it is India's internal matter and now suddenly they want foreign observers to come here and watch our elections," Abdullah told reporters. The National Conference leader said if India does not want interference or comments from other countries on Jammu and Kashmir, why have they been invited here? The second phase of polling will decide the electoral fate of 239 candidates, including former chief minister Omar Abdullah. Omar Abdullah is contesting from two seats - Budgam and Ganderbal.

Apart from Abdullah, the major candidates whose electoral fate will be decided by the voters in this phase include state Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Ravinder Raina. Karra is trying his luck from Central Shalteng while Raina is trying to regain the representation of Nowshera in the Rajouri district. He was victorious there in 2014.