REASI: Reasi District Election Officer (DEO) Vishesh Paul Mahajan on Friday joined early voters to exercise his democratic right as polling began in Jammu Lok Sabha constituency in the second phase.

The DEO said queues have started forming outside polling stations and he is hopeful of a good voter turnout in the district.

Mahajan, who hails from the Bahu area of Jammu, cast his vote at a pink booth at Government Higher Secondary School in the district headquarters immediately after the voting started at 7 am.

Reasi district is part of Jammu parliamentary constituency with more than 17.81 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 22 candidates.

Incumbent MP Jugal Kishore Sharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing a third straight term in the Lower House of Parliament after he won the seat in the 2014 and 2019 elections. His main contender is Congress candidate and former minister Raman Bhalla.

The polling will continue till 6 pm.

"I have cast my vote, fulfilling my duty and right despite being on official on duty here. I am feeling very proud to be part of this dynamic democratic process, the biggest in the world which is happening today," Mahajan, who took over as deputy commissioner of Reasi district in November last year, told reporters.

Showing the indelible mark on his index finger, he requested the voters in the district to come out in large numbers and exercise their franchise. Three assembly constituencies, including Gulabgarh (ST), Reasi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, have 2,35,262 voters including 1,23,323 male, 1,11,936 female and three transgender voters. Among these, 1,393 are service voters (1364 male, 29 female).

A total of 425 polling stations including 97 vulnerable and 16 critical have been set up across the district.