In the final phase of polling for Jammu and Kashmir, the newly redrawn Anantnag-Rajouri constituency saw a healthy turnout, in line with the trends of the two other constituencies in Kashmir – Srinagar and Baramulla. In the 2019 last general elections, the erstwhile Anantnag seat saw a meagre turnout of 8.9 per cent. However, with the boundaries of the constituency extended across the Pir Panjal to include Jammu’s Rajouri and Poonch, polling percentages stood at 54.3% by late Saturday night. At polling booths across the peripheries of Anantnag, voters queued up with the future of the youth in mind. In the Shangus area, “troubles of the young people, such as arrests and detentions”, drew Mohammad Ibrahim (40) to the polling booth. He said that while there is a marked difference in the everyday lives of the people, there is also “despair among the youth who are struggling to find jobs and are forever caught in the quagmire of seeking verifications”. Voters also voiced dissatisfaction with the way the delimitation of the seat took place. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat (53) said this is a bigger challenge for the people of Rajouri and Poonch “since the important political figures contesting this election are from Kashmir. And since this is essentially an NC-PDP contest, both are likely to prioritise Kashmir”. The parliamentary seat spans over five districts – Anantnag, Kulgam and parts of Shopian districts in Kashmir, and Poonch and parts of Rajouri district in Jammu. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who has earlier represented the constituency, is contesting against senior National Conference leader Mian Altaf and J&K Apni Party’s Zafar Iqbal Manhas from the seat. The constituency was set to go to polls on May 7, but after interventions from JKAP and others, voting was postponed. At Dooru, 45-year-old Shakeela also highlighted the plea of the young people in her family. “There is nothing for them to do. They go to college, get their degrees and then just wait for a job. It has been a long time since anyone I know got recruited to a government job,” she said. Outside the polling station in Larkipora, Ali Mohammad Mir (60) said he votes in every election, despite calls for boycotts. “This election is important because it is about more than what one person, area or community needs. It is what we need collectively, and that is statehood and protections like we had under Article 370.” These concerns were echoed by Afaaq Mir, who received his M.Phil in 2021 and is still waiting to land a job. “If you ask me what the biggest fear of my generation is, it is jail. It is being implicated in some case that will take years away. We need to empower a vocal leader who can speak for us in Parliament.” Meanwhile, as the PDP alleged slow polling and detention of its workers, with Mufti and her party workers holding a sit-in outside the Bijbehara police station, Chief Electoral Officer J&K, Pandurang Pole issued a statement denying this. “The speed of EVMs is the same everywhere. Polling staff are working diligently to facilitate everyone. As per ECl rules, if there are voters at the close of poll time, that is 6 pm, voting will continue till voting of all those standing in the queue is completed,” the CEO said. In the evening, Mufti thanked the people for coming out to vote despite the "harassment and intimidation" of party workers. "This is tactical rigging like 1987," she alleged. "Why were hundreds of our workers picked up? If this is not rigging, what is?” In a tweet later, the police said that very few people have been detained for being OGWs or over-ground workers for militants. Mufti, however, named a few of the detained youth as the party’s youth general secretary Najmus Saqib and district youth president Adil Dukroo. “They are educated young men who have shown faith in democracy," she said. "To call them OGWs is shameful.” At a polling booth in Qaimoh, Kulgam, a neighbourhood that would see deserted polling stations in the past, Zubair Ahmad Bhat said, “I am 34 years old and this is my first vote. We want to get back what we have lost in the last five years. We want young men in jails to return to their homes.” While the Anantnag constituency was seen as a PDP stronghold, the addition of twin districts of Jammu and carving out Pulwama and parts of Shopian from it has made the contest tighter. The two districts of Jammu have 7.3 lakh voters, while the figure in the Valley is close to 11 lakh. Poonch and Rajouri have a significant Gujjar and Pahari vote that would play a significant role in the outcome. As a group of women voters entered the polling booth to cast their votes in Pahalgam assembly, one of them said, "I am from a National Conference family but I will vote for her (Mufti). She is a woman and she is being targeted unfairly.” Both traditional boycott pockets and villages saw brisk polling. Irshad Ahmad Khanday, a resident of Bindoo in the tourist destination of Kokernag, said, "We want development in our area. This is a tourist resort but we don't get any benefits. The government doesn't allow us to build hotels or shops here.”
