J-K elections: BJP poster girl slaps polling officer

The BJP's poster girl in the valley Hina Bhat proved to be an embarrassment for the party on polling day in Srinagar when she allegedly slapped an on-duty Polling Officer in uptown Chanapora while visiting a polling station in her constituency.

The BJP's poster girl in the valley Hina Bhat proved to be an embarrassment for the party on polling day in Srinagar when she allegedly slapped an on-duty Polling Officer in uptown Chanapora while visiting a polling station in her constituency.

Bhat, is the party's candidate from Amria Kadal and is fighting chief minister Omar Abdullah's aide Nasir Aslam Wani.

Eyewitnesses said Hina entered into a heated argument with the polling staff before slapping him. The action angered the NC workers who rasied slogans outside the polling station.

The action was also condemned by chief minister and National Conference (NC) working president Omar Abdullah who wrote on microblogging site twitter "The BJP candidate in Srinagar who earlier threatened to pick up a gun over Art 370 now slaps a polling officer. Well done."

Hina Bhat, who is daughter of Mohammad Shafi Bhat, who represented the Amira Kadal constituency in 1996 and became MP from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on National Conference ticket.

Bhat, a dentist by profession has been grabbing headlines ever since her candidature was declared by the party. She has not been new to controversies as she once said that "she will pick up the gun if article 370 is abrogated".

In another incident another BJP candidate Javed Ahmad Qadri also allegedly thrashed a voter inside a polling station.

Qadri, party's candidate from Shopian constituency, thrashed an unidentified person inside a polling station at Moochwad in south Kashmir. Qadri claimed the man was inside the station without a polling slip.

Bhat, however, refuted the allegation. In an interview to NDTV, the BJP leader said she stepped in to interrupt the polling process after the finding out that a polling officer was casting a vote on behalf of a voter.

BJP's Altaf Thakur said that polling staff had misbehaved with her which forced her to take the step. "She has made it clear that the staff member was helping NC in the polling station, when she protested he misbehaved with her. She and the party will complain to the EC about the polling staffs actions," he added.