And the winner gets8230; five per cent votes

SRINAGAR, SEPT 6: The Member of Parliament from Srinagar this time will not have enough votes to keep his/her deposit in any other consti...

SRINAGAR, SEPT 6: The Member of Parliament from Srinagar this time will not have enough votes to keep his/her deposit in any other constituency anywhere else. With the turnout a little over 11 per cent, the winner 8212; even his rivals say it will be Omar Abdullah 8212; may get just over five per cent of the total votes.

The contestants are almost sure who the winner will be. 8220;I8217;ll not call him Omar Abdullah of the National Conference an MP but MMP, because his victory will be due to Matadors8217; passenger vehicle which were pressed into service for bringing bogus voters in most of the booths in the constituency,8221; says rival Mehbooba Mufti of the new-born PDP.

The low turnout 11.8 per cent has dampened the hopes of both Mehbooba and Congress candidate Aga Syed Mehdi.

Aga says Omar Abdullah unleashed his hired goondas to rig the poll in the most brazen fashion. Last night, police and Aga8217;s supporters clashed at Badgam over shifting of ballot boxes to Srinagar. 8220;What is the desperation of shifting ballotboxes at midnight when usually these were shifted in the morning? I suspect foul-play, because majority of votes in Budgam, Chadura, Khansahib and Berwah have been polled in my favour and the NC would very much like to change the boxes to ensure Omar8217;s victory,8221; charged Aga.

8220;If there had been 50 per cent polling in these segments, my victory would have been certain,8221; he asserted. Is he now conceding defeat? 8220;No, because voters had lost faith in the NC and even in Omar8217;s strongholds like Ganderbal and Kangan have voted for me,8221; he claimed.

The bearded Shia leader finds PDP candidate Mehbooba no match. 8220;My fight is with Omar Abdullah,8221; he said.

The lack of an organisational network has seriously damaged poll prospects of Mehbooba in this election. As the PDP was launched just before the parliamentary elections, there was hardly any time to establish it at the grassroots level.

Story continues below this ad

8220;Farooq Abdullah was determined to ensure his son8217;s victory and only with this mission in mind, he went to New Delhiabout half-a-dozen times to seek support of central machinery,8221; Mehbooba said.

She said that8217;s why the people have lost faith in the electoral process. The fact that nearly 88 per cent people boycotted the polls strengthens this belief, she said.

The main force behind the election boycott 8212; All Parties Hurriyat Conference 8212; is euphoric about the response, though most voters remained home not in support of its call but for fear of violence and reprisal.