Baramulla vote 56.73%, CEC says signal for early Assembly polls in J&K

Significantly, for the first time in three decades, the twin towns of Sopore and Baramulla — the separatist bastions that always heeded election boycotts in the past – kept a date with polling, registering a turnout of 40.1% and 48.2%, respectively. In 2019, Sopore assembly segment in Baramulla parliamentary constituency had a turnout of 4.3%, and Baramulla assembly segment had 16%.

The record turnout comes two days after militants killed a former sarpanch of the BJP in Shopian, and also wounded two tourists in an attack on a tourist resort in Pahalgam.

Voters queuing outside a polling station in Kupwara. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

The parliamentary constituency spanning over three districts – Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipore – is witnessing a stiff triangular contest between former chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah, independent candidate Engineer Rashid, and the Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone. Peoples Democratic Party candidate Fayaz Ahmad Mir is also in the fray.

While the border areas would see brisk polling in the past too, urban areas would witness a total boycott. This time, though, all roads led to polling stations.

“This time is different. Elections in the past were for development, for governance, but these elections are for our identity,” said a 37-year-old outside the Government Degree College in Sopore, who was voting for the first time.

At 10 am, Yahama village in Kupwara’s Langate area, which falls in the home assembly segment of Engineer Rashid, had polled 260 votes out of 1,190 on the electoral rolls, and hundreds were waiting for their turn. Some voters walked over 2 km to reach the polling station.

“Our village has people from across the political spectrum,” said Khazir Mohammad Bhat (65) after casting his vote. “There is a stiff competition and that’s why everyone has come out.”

At Handwara, the home assembly constituency of Sajad Lone, voters talked about their rights. In the queue, Mohammad Ramzan Bhat said, “Our special status was snatched… We are voting to choose someone capable of raising their voice for us.”

A 47-year-old woman waiting outside polling station 5 at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Handwara said, “Our children are highly qualified but sitting at home. We hope something good comes out of this.”

For years, Trehgam was a rare village in frontier Kupwara district that stayed away from polling booths. This time, by 12.30 pm, the four polling stations here had polled 1,023 voters out of 3,735 on the electoral rolls.

“Because of this tag (of not voting), our village has not seen any development in decades. A hospital built here in 1856 has never been upgraded. Our village has almost 100 per cent literacy, but every household has an unemployed boy or girl with Ph.D, M.Phil or Masters,” said a businessman in the queue.

In the Handwara area of North Kashmir, the older generation conveyed a sense of “relief” at being able to cast their vote, while also yearning for “political representation at all levels of governance”. First-time voters emphasised a sense of “responsibility” toward protecting J&K’s “identity”. Like in previous elections, Handwara remained one of the highest voting assembly segments of the parliamentary constituency.

At the Vodhpora booth, Mohammad Isaq (49) said, “I think a new candidate deserves a chance. Anyone can give us drains and roads… We are keen that assembly and panchayat elections be held as soon as possible since that gives us more control over development in our areas and a greater sense of representation.”

Mohammad Rasool Shah, 71, who said he was voting for the first time since the 1990s, came looking for “uniformity in law and order in Kashmir” as the rest of the country. “If I made a mistake in the past, why should my children be punished now? The Indian law states that only the perpetrator of the crime should be punished, but here it is different.”

Also in the queue was 30-year-old Kulsoom Ara, who cast her first vote in Handwara. “There is a lot of fear among young people in every home since August 2019. This is the only way to express what we have been feeling without the threat of arrest,” she said.

J&K Chief Electoral Office Pandurang Pole called it a “record voter turnout since the turmoil (in J&K)”, attributing it to “the improvement in the overall situation”.