Voting for the 16 Assembly constituencies which went to polls in the sixth phase ended peacefully with no untoward incident reported. Chief Electoral Officer B R Sharma said, “As per preliminary reports, 64 per cent polling was registered and it is expected to go up by 2-3 per cent.”In the five districts which went to polls, the highest poll percentage was registered in Kishtawar which witnessed 72 per cent polling. Doda recorded 66 per cent polling, Ramban registered 64 per cent turnout, Kulgam witnessed 60 per cent polling and Anantnag 57 per cent turnout.Better roads, uninterrupted water supply, electricity, and employment were the key issues that the people of these constituencies were concerned about. What was missing was the impact of the two month-long agitation over the transfer of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board which had polarised the state on religious lines. In Kishtawar district, which witnessed communal clashes on August 12, voters said communal agenda was not an issue for them. At Matta polling station in Kishtwar, Anil Kumar said that Amarnath was a non-issue. “We have a college here, but without adequate staff and infrastructure — that is our election issue,” he said.Wednesday’s polls sealed the fate of former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and three former ministers, Abdul Majid Wani of the Congress from Doda, the party’s candidate from Inderwal Ghulam Mohammad Saroori and former home minister in the NC government Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy from Doda.At Azad’s hometown, Bhaderwah, a first-time voter at Chinote polling station, Abdul Rashid, said, “I will vote for the candidate who can solve the unemployment problem in this area.”Haseeb Ahmed, 45, voted for development. “We have a huge hydro-electric potential and it can be tapped to turn around the condition of this place.”In a special polling station for women in Doda Assembly constituency, burqa-clad women stood in long queues to cast votes. Asiya Nazir, a first-time voter, said, “I am voting for better educational facilities and uninterrupted power supply.”
