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Lashkar-e-Tayeba militants opened fire with automatic weapons on polling stations in Topa, Darhaaz and Madoon in the Poonch district, disrupting voting in the byelection to the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency.
Police sources told rediff.com that the militants had come down from the mountains and opened fire on polling officials, before voting officially began at 0800 hours. There is no immediate confirmation on the number of casualties.
Polling began on a dull note at 0800 hours. However, reports of long queues forming at some booths indicated that the pace could get brisk as the day wears on. In a byelection necessitated by the death of sitting MP Vaid Vishnu Datt of the BJP, 15,79,973 voters will decide the fate of 14 candidates.
The election has shaped into a triangular contest between the ruling National Conference's Chaudhary Talib Hussain, Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Madan Lal Sharma of the Congress. Since it is seen as an appetiser to the upcoming assembly elections, the contesting parties have pulled out all stops in an attempt to win.
Meanwhile, the already heavy security blanket in the region was further tightened following the shooting.
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