Srinagar records highest voter turnout since 1998
Officials said there was a significant increase in the turnout even in urban areas of the Srinagar constituency, where the boycott calls have previously had a greater resonance
The Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency recorded a 36% voter turnout on Monday, the highest since 1998 when the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir was at its peak, as the first major electoral exercise was held in the Valley since the nullification of Constitution’s Article 370 that stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status.
“...the highest polling percentage of almost the past three decades,” said chief electoral officer Pandurang K Pole. He added overall polling was peaceful. “No negative event happened; neither in campaigning nor on the poll day.”
Pole credited an improvement in the overall environment for better turnout in the region, which has been without an elected government since 2018.
The voter turnout in Srinagar had been declining since 1996 when the first elections were held in the region following the beginning of the insurgency. It was just 14.4% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 7.1% in 2017 (by-poll), 25.8% in 2014, 25.5% in 2009, 18.5% in 2004, 11.9% in 1999, 30% in 1998, 40.9% in 1996.
Officials said there was a significant increase in the turnout even in urban areas of the Srinagar constituency, where the poll boycott calls have previously had a greater resonance due to the influence of separatist leaders. There were also no boycott calls, which were earlier given as elections were seen as an endorsement to the region’s status as an integral part of the Indian Union.
No untoward incident was recorded from any of the 2,135 polling stations of the parliamentary seat spread across five districts and 18 assembly segments even as the National Conference (NC) and People Democratic Party (PDP) alleged police harassment and slow voting.
As many as 23 candidates were in the fray with PDP’s Waheed Para, and NC’s Ruhullah Mehdi being the main contenders.
Officials said 228 out of 1027 voters voted in the first three hours at Khanyar in the old Srinagar city. Ghulam Rasool Mattu, 73, one of them, said he voted after three decades for peace and prosperity. “We want our own to govern us as we face problems. I am hopeful our votes will change our fate and bring more peace in the region.”
In the old city’s Jamia Masjid and Rajouri Kadal, there was not even visible security unlike over the past three decades.
At Eidgah, a group of friends, in their 40s, voted for the first time. “People have no option but to get rid of the suffocating atmosphere in Valley for the past five years... We are opting for the lesser evil to pick our local representatives. The vote is not for electricity, road, and water but against constitutional changes and the repression here,” said Nazir Ahmad, a businessman, referring to the nullification of Article 370.
At a polling booth in Gojwara, 119 people voted out of 1127 in six hours. “I voted against insecurity, instability, and inflation,” said Adil Ahmad, 38.
Suhail Ahmad, 27, who faces four cases related to stone-throwing protests, said he was called to a police station on Sunday but voted for change and for the freedom to talk and express. “Life was relaxed when our local representative governed us,” he said.
At Barsoo Lar in the Ganderbal district, Ghulam Mohammad said only a few people voted earlier. “This time there is a change as a large number of voters voted without fear. It is good that people are now voting. The boycott was never a good decision,” he said. “My family members [five] have already voted.” The Ganderbal district recorded almost 50% turnout.
In PDP candidate Para’s native village in Pulwama, a voter said they will register record voting as people want change in the status quo. “We hope our votes will bring major change.”
Arshid Ahmad, 48, who was among the voters at Urwan in Pulwama, said education is suffering and so is the fruit industry. “The bureaucrats ordered a uniform syllabus and books in all schools but forgot to print them. A poor man has to pay ₹2000 as electricity fees when he was paying ₹500 earlier.”
A voter in Bugam said the people turned out in numbers as elections happened after 10 years. “There is anger in people... We want a representative who is elected not selected...The governance machinery has become out of reach for the poor people,” he said.
First-time voter Zainal Abidin, 19, said he voted for democracy. “I was reluctant to vote but then I realised that my vote has value against despotic rule. I was enthusiastic to save our democracy,” said Abidin.
