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Kashmir voters warm up to poll
Without an elected government for three months and in the global spotlight for two-decade-old trouble, Jammu and Kashmir on Monday made another tryst with political power as the assembly polls got under way with voters braving the winter chill and a boycott call from separatists to exercise their franchise.
- IANS
- Published: 23:29 November 17, 2008
- Women voters gather at a polling booth in Surankote, 220km northwest of Jammu.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Srinagar/Jammu: Without an elected government for three months and in the global spotlight for two-decade-old trouble, Jammu and Kashmir on Monday made another tryst with political power as the assembly polls got under way with voters braving the winter chill and a boycott call from separatists to exercise their franchise.
It was a vote of change, they said, as security personnel swarmed the 10 constituencies in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley, the Hindu-majority Jammu region and the mainly Buddhist Ladakh that held elections in the first round of the seven-phased elections that get over on December 24.
The 55 per cent turnout among the 1.2 million electorate yesterday was warming despite the biting cold, said political parties as the trickle of electors in the state's tenth election steadily grew as the day progressed.
The statistics too spoke of the voter enthusiasm in the shadow of the gun.
In Jammu region, till close of day, Mendhar reported a turnout of 67 per cent, Poonch Haveli 64 per cent and Surankot 58 per cent.
In the freezing desert of Ladakh, where temperatures dipped below zero degrees Celsius, 48 per cent of voters in Zanskar turned up, 57 per cent in Kargil, 55 per cent in Nobra and 53 per cent in Leh.
Virtual curfew
In the Kashmir Valley, where restrictions imposed by the government and the call by separatists meant a virtual curfew, Gurez topped with 74 per cent followed by Bandipora 44 and Sonawari 42 per cent.
This was significant given the boycott call of the separatists and the fear of violence in the region, which has been the centre of three wars between India and Pakistan.
In Trigam village, 20km north of the summer capital Srinagar, where voters queued under an overcast sky, the mood was optimistic.
At the village in Sonawari constituency, 24-year-old Sakina said candidly as she queued up: "I am unemployed and helping my mother with household chores. I am a graduate. I am worried for my future. Electing the right representative can address my problems."
Asked whether it was worth voting in such cold weather, she said: "It is better to brave the cold for one day than face it for the rest of your life."
The stories were many in the state, which has been under Governor's rule since July after the Congress government collapsed over violent differences between the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley over the Hindu Amarnath shrine.
In one polling booth in mountainous Gurez, 78 of 79 voters had cast their ballot by 11am.
At another booth in Sonawari, Mohammad Ebrahim Dar, who is close to 100 years old, was among the first to vote. He has witnessed all the electoral exercises in the state since 1957, when the first general elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir.
Accusing the authorities of holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir "under the barrel of the gun", separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said with the majority of the electorate keeping away from polling booths it was a "victory for the pro-freedom" parties.
In several north Kashmir towns, minor clashes were reported between pro and anti-election people.
"First we don't have an independent mechanism to confirm these official voting figures. And if these are understood to be true then what about the majority of the people who didn't vote," said the Mirwaiz.
"Is not that our victory? It's a vindication for pro-freedom leaders," he said. "The elections were held under the barrel of the gun. You can't have free and fair polling in the presence of hundreds of thousands of armed troopers," said the Mirwaiz, who heads his faction of the separatist Hurriyat Conference.
The world looks at Kashmir as a hotspot between India and Pakistan. But the people who voted here in Bandipora constituency yesterday for a new legislature were more worried about local issues.
It was still early and freezing cold as Haji Mohammad Yousuf, 60, finished casting his vote and was leaving the polling station, set up in the rural development department office.
"Our priority is issues like unemployment, roads and development," Yousuf said. "My participation in the voting process has nothing to do with the resolution of the Kashmir dispute."
The elderly man made it clear that his children could not afford to sit idly until the five-decade Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan gets resolved.
"Something has to be done to secure their future. Unless we have the right person to represent us, such burning issues cannot be allowed to wait."
Like Yousuf, Nighat Ara, 23, defied the poll boycott called by separatists. And like Yousuf, she too has similar priorities.
"I am voting for a job. If the representative of my choice wins the election, I am sure he will do something to get me a government job," said the young woman. "My parents are constantly worried about my unemployment."
In Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar, Chief Electoral Officer B.R. Sharma said: "The first two of polling has been totally peaceful."
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