LC polls:Only 537 panchayat members did not exercise franchise

According to the official data, the overall voting percentage for the two Legislative Council seats of Kashmir division was 97 per cent of the 17,912 eligible voters.

It shows that only 537 panchayat members had not cast their votes in the polling that took place yesterday.

As many as 37 candidates were in the fray for the four seats of the Legislative Council, reserved under Panchayat quota, for which polling was held after a gap of four decades.

Militants had carried out several attacks on panchayat members, who were elected in the landmark elections last year, killing three of them and injuring nearly 10 others.

The ultras had issued posters, asking the Panchayat members to resign from their posts or face the consequences.

A panchayat member was shot dead in February in Kulgam district while two more were killed by the militants in September in Baramulla district.

The killings led to a spree of resignations by the panchayat members who made the announcements through paid advertisements in local newspapers.

Hardline Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin had asked the panchayat members to boycott the polls.MORE