Jammu, October 10: In a shock demise, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Azad Singh Raju died after suffering a heart attack outside a polling booth in Ramban district. The deceased, 62, was a retired state government employee and had entered the fray of candidates for the first time.

The local BJP leadership expressed sorrow over the demise of Raju. Reports said he had served for nearly three decades in the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. Valley Continues Poor Show in 2nd Phase of J&K Local Body Polls.

Meanwhile, a poor voter turnout was recorded in the second phase of J&K urban civic elections. According to the State Election Commission, only 31.3 per cent voting was recorded. Out of the 9,33,000 registered voters, 4,36,285 exercised their right to franchise.

The maximum polling was recorded in Doda district, overseeing the Kashmir Valley, where 72.1 per cent of the electorate came out to vote. In the three districts of Valley, however, a collective voter turnout of 3 per cent was recorded.

Voting for the second phase of polls was held at 540 registered polling stations between 6am to 4pm. A total of 384 wards were contested across three districts of Chenab Valley, parts of Srinagar and Anantnag, along with Udhampur, reasi and Kathua districts in Jammu region.

The voting today sealed the fate of 1,029 candidates who had filed their nominations. Party-wise, the prime contest is between the Congress, NPP and the BJP. The two major regional outfits - National Conference and People's Democratic Party - have boycotted the local body and panchayat elections as a mark of protest against the Centre's handling of the Article 35(A) row.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 10, 2018 09:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).