Kashmir goes to polls amid tight security
ELECTION COMMISION REPORTS 70% TURNOUT IN FIRST PHASE OF ELECTIONS
Voters in Kashmir turned out in large numbers under tight security yesterday as the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) tried to win power for the first time in the state. Voters lined up in 15 heavily guarded constituencies in the first stage of staggered elections, ignoring a call by separatist leaders to boycott the poll. Turnout was high in seats across the region, including near the de facto border with Pakistan and in remote Ladakh, home to mostly Buddhists, where temperatures have dropped below freezing.
“Vote in large numbers & vote with your hearts,” tweeted Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, whose National Conference party faces a tough fight to stay in power.
BJP’s gamble
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) is staging a bold attempt to seize control of the Jammu and Kashmir state’s 87- member assembly, a move that would have been unthinkable until very recently. The party has traditionally had no base in the Kashmir Valley.
Modi’s landslide win at national elections in May on a pledge to revive the economy, along with a meltdown in support for incumbent Abdullah after deadly floods in September, have given the BJP hope of a breakthrough.
Outside a polling station in Ganderbal, a seat Abdullah’s family has long dominated, some voters at least were ready to give the BJP a chance.
“Whoever is willing to do the work is the best party. There’s nothing wrong with the BJP. Whoever works for the poor is the best party,” said taxi driver Aris Ahmad in Ganderbal, 30km north of the main city of Srinagar.
Boycott call
Separatist hardliners have called for a boycott of the poll, but the Election Commission said turnout was 70 per cent across the region and was likely to rise with voters still queuing as stations closed.
“The polls in phase one have gone off absolutely peacefully without any untoward incident,” deputy election commissioner Vinod Zutshi told reporters, adding that a woman said to be 121 was among those casting ballots.
Some polls in the past have been marred by low turnout and violent clashes with security forces. A boycott could play to the BJP’s advantage since although Hindus are a minority in Kashmir, their votes take on extra importance if many Muslims stay home. The BJP has staged a major media campaign, with newspapers in English and Urdu running large advertisements calling on voters to “Come let’s go with Modi”.
But analysts said the BJP may have overplayed its hand, predicting ahead of the vote that the blitz would prompt anti- BJP voters to turn out in large numbers, rather than boycott, to cast ballots for regional parties.
Thousands of soldiers had been deployed in and around polling stations.
Most separatists have either been arrested or confined to their houses in the lead- up to the election, while police have also detained dozens of youths, authorities have told AFP.
Jammu and Kashmir will vote in five phases, with results due on December 23.