Re-poll in 38 Srinagar booths tomorrow

The Election Commission has ordered a re-poll in 38 of the 1,559 polling stations which fall in the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency. The re-poll will take place on April 13.

The EC’s decision comes after the constituency, which went to the polls on April 9, reported a voter turnout of 6.5 per cent. There were also reports of violence, with six people losing their lives in police firing.

The 38 polling stations where re-polls have been ordered are spread over five Assembly segments — Chadoora, Budgam, Beerwah, Khan Sahib and Charisharief

. In the Chadoora Assembly segment the re-poll will take place in 16 polling stations, the maximum number of polling stations seeing re-polls among the four Assembly segments. There are 15 Assembly segments in the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency.

There were also reports of stone pelting from several places in Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal, which make up the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency, during polling on April 9. Farooq Abdullah, the joint candidate of the National Conference and Congress, and Nasir Ahmad Khan, the nominee of the ruling PDP, are the main contestants in the by-polls to the Srinagar constituency.

Following violence in other parts of J&K, the EC on Monday also postponed the by-elections to the Anantnag Parliamentary constituency to May 25.