Brisk 71.28 pc turnout in 15 segments

Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, Nov 25: A brisk 71.28 per cent turnout was recorded in first phase of polling for 15 Assembly constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir with people defying various odds including election boycott call given by the separatists and adverse weather conditions with cold wave sweeping many parts of the segments that went to polls today, to turn out in large numbers to use their right to franchise.
Significantly, the turnout in 15 Assembly constituencies recorded about 10 per cent increase in voting this time as compared to 2008 Assembly elections and 20 per cent as compared to April-May 2014 Lok Sabha polls, official sources told the Excelsior.
They said the polling was completely peaceful and free of any violence or militancy related incident with people including women turning out in huge number in all 15 Assembly constituencies of three regions—Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh to cast votes despite freezing temperature in upper reaches of all three regions of the State.
Today’s polling sealed the fate of 123 candidates in the Electronic Voting Machines including seven Ministers of present National Conference-Congress Government.
Sonawari Assembly segment in Bandipora district of Kashmir Valley, which is presently held by Higher Education Minister Mohammad Akbar lone, recorded highest turnout of 80.1 per cent while Ganderbal constituency in Kashmir, held by Chief Minister and National Conference working president Omar Abdullah, had lowest turnout of 59 per cent in today’s polling. However, Omar is not contesting from Ganderbal this time and has shifted to two Assembly constituencies of Beerwah in Budgam and Sonawar in Srinagar.
Assembly segment wise percentage of voters turnout for 15 constituencies included Nobra (75.6), Leh (67), Kargil (69.45), Zanskar (71.44), Doda (79.6), Bhaderwah (70.1), Ramban (68.78), Banihal (73.32), Kishtwar (77.09), Inderwal (74.32), Ganderbal (59), Kangan (76), Sonawari (80.1), Bandipora (70) and Gurez (77.15).
Barring stray incidents of scuffles between supporters of rival political parties, the polling passed off peacefully at all place. Police have registered a FIR at Drass police station in Kargil district after supporters of two candidates clashed causing injuries to one person, SSP Kargil Sujit Kumar said, adding the polling continued at Bhimbot station, where the minor clash took place.
An interesting fact of voting surfaced in Leh district where 55,252 votes were polled, which were only 60 less than 55,312 cast in the Lok Sabha elections this year in May.
Significantly, there were very few complaints of non-functioning of EVMs this time. However, such complaints were immediately addressed. Entire population of village Sharchay in Kargil Assembly segment boycotted the elections due to delay in addressing their problems.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Umang Narula told a press conference this evening that the polling was completely peaceful and violence free with teams of Election Commission keeping a hawk’s eye on critical and sensitive polling stations through web casting, digital and video cameras and deployment of Observers.
Narula said the Election Commission had deployed 15 General Observers, 255 Micro Observers, seven Expenditure Observers, three Police Observers and two Awareness Observers to monitor the polling process and ensure that the voting in all 12 Assembly segments went on peacefully.
Apart from this, he said, the Election Commission had installed 148 digital cameras and 118 video cameras in critical and hyper sensitive polling stations to keep surveillance on the polling process. Web casting was done in 159 polling booths. The Commission had declared 92 polling stations as model polling stations.
A total of 10.61 lakh electorates were eligible for today’s voting in 787 polling stations at 1606 locations, Narula said, adding that first phase of polling was logistically toughest for the Commission in view of topography of the segments as all constituencies were mountain locked. The Election Commission had taken hilly constituencies in the first phase to ensure that the polling there was completed well before heavy snowfall.
The CEO said the Election Commission used 31 sorties of MI-17 and obtained services of 12 small helicopters for Kishtwar, Leh, Kargil and Bandipora districts to airlifted polling staff with EVMs and para-military personnel. The similar number of sorties would be used to bring back the staff from the polling stations.
To a pointed question on impact of boycott call given by the separatists, Narula said: “we have given Assembly segment wise figures of voter turnout. The electorates have turned out in large number to cast their votes’’. He gave credit of huge turnout to the voters.
Replying to another question, Narula said the participation of voters is always more in the Assembly elections as compared to Lok Sabha polls in view of more number of candidates and constituencies. “On our part, the Election Commission also made all out efforts to increase participation of the voters,’’ he said, adding the people came out and voted.
In response to another question, Narula said he has no report of 14 villages boycotting the elections due to local problems.
Official sources said the figures in all the 15 Assembly seats that went to polls today, spread over 7 districts, saw an increase in voting percentage as compared to the last Assembly polls held in 2008 in the State and the Lok Sabha elections held early this year.
“The LS polls in April-May had recorded 52.63 per cent polling while 2008 Assembly elections witnessed 61 per cent polling in these 15 constituencies which went to polls today,” sources said, adding the turnout this time went up to 71.28 per cent, recording an increase of about 10 per cent in Assembly polls and about 20 per cent from Lok Sabha polls.
Sources said the polling held today in the State was “hundred per cent flawless” as there was not a single incident reported which could have “vitiated” the polls process.
“There were some minor clashes here and there. There were some incidents of bursting of fire crackers in Bandipora, nothing else,” they said.
“The higher percentage of voting in Jammu and Kashmir is because of the combined effort of everyone along with good security and voter awareness efforts undertaken by the Election Commission,” sources said.
Sources said there might not be a necessity to order a re-poll in any of these 15 constituencies as things went smoothly but a final call will be taken during the scrutiny tomorrow morning.
Sources said a total of Rs 55 lakh had been seized in the State till now while a “minimal” quantity of liquor intercepted by EC-deployed teams as part of its measures to check black money and illegal inducements to voters.
In five Kashmir Valley constituencies, two in Ganderbal district recorded tentative 68 per cent turnout — an increase of 13 per cent from 2008 Assembly polls — while three in Bandipora district recorded 70.30 per cent, registering an increase of 11 per cent.
In six seats of Jammu division, two constituencies in Doda district recorded a turnout of about 76 per cent while it was 70 per cent each for the four seats in Kishtwar and Ramban districts.
While there was increase of eight per cent in Doda district and nearly four per cent in Ramban district, Kishtwar district recorded a drop of over three per cent.
The four constituencies of Ladakh region, which normally witnessed high voter turnout, marked a decrease in number of voters exercising their franchise.
In two constituencies of Leh district, the turnout was 57 per cent, down from 61.88 per cent in 2008 Assembly polls and substantially down from 68.23 per cent registered during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.
In Kargil district, 69.9 per cent voters cast their votes against 72.9 per cent in 2008 elections.
Early morning chill and fog failed to dampen the spirits of the voters who had assembled at the polling stations an hour before the scheduled start of voting.
The voting time had to be extended in several polling stations to allow those voters, who were already inside the polling station premises, to cast their votes.
Serpentine queues of voters could be seen at most of the polling stations in all six Assembly constituencies of Chenab Valley in Jammu region, where the turn out used to be usually lower than in the segments of Jammu district but this time the percentage was beyond the expectations.
While most of the old timers turned up to vote based on their ideological affiliations, development and unemployment were the key issue for the first time voters in all six Assembly segments of Chenab Valley in Jammu region while almost similar were the key issues in Ladakh region apart from the demand of Union Territory status in Leh district.
Initially the turnout was low in all six segments of Chenab Valley and Ladakh region due to extreme chill but with Sun coming out and Tuesday turning out to be a bright sunny day, the rush of voters picked up at around 10 am and then unending queues were seen outside the polling stations everywhere. At a number of polling stations, the voting continued till 5.30 pm as the voters, who had entered the polling stations at 4 pm, were allowed to cast their votes.
Meanwhile, fate of seven Ministers and several other bigwigs was sealed in the EVMs after first phase of polling today. They included Works Minister Abdul Mujeed Wani (Doda), Urban Development Minister Rigzin Jora (Leh), Higher Education Minister Mohammad Akbar Lone (Sonawari), Forests Minister Mian Altaf (Kangan), Minister of State for Home Sajjad Kitchloo (Kishtwar), Minister of State for Power Viqar Rasool Wani (Banihal) and Minister of State for Animal and Sheep Husbandry Nazir Ahmad Gurezi (Gurez).
Sitting MLAs Nizam-ud-Din Bhat (Bandipora), Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mohammad Sharief Niaz (Bhaderwah) and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori (Inderwal) were also in the fray in today’s elections.
Of 15 seats that went to polls today, eight were held by NC, six by Congress and one by PDP in the outgoing Assembly. Though the BJP has no MLA from 15 seats going to elections in Phase-I, it had polled impressive number of votes in all six segments of Chenab Valley and three out of four seats in Ladakh region in this year’s Lok Sabha elections and the party was further hoping to improve its performance in the Assembly polls.

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