Valley voters lukewarm to polls

At Lethpora, a small village fair seemed to be in full swing. As twilight gave way to the bright springday, villagers flooded the polling booth. Voters waited for their turn after undergoing a thorough security check. However, there were almost no women voters. The trend continued throughout the Ananatnag and Baramulla constituencies. “It is my first experience with the ballot and I am not going to lose this opportunity,” said teenager Bashir.

Similar contrasting pictures of total apathy and extreme enthusiasm were visible in Baramulla constituency. Pattan, a township on the Srinagar-Baramulla road maintained its tradition of heavy polling. Voters had gathered outside the booth since 7 am. Ashim Jan, 80 years old, had lost her eyesight but not her desire to vote. Her daughter Zoona told The Indian Express, “We asked Ashim to stay at home but she insisted on casting her life’s last vote in the belief that it may bring peace to Kashmir.”

An eerie calm prevailed in the apple town of Sopore, the fountainhead of secessionist ideology. Till 11 a m, most polling centres had reported only eight per centpolling.

Army troops patrolled the town and tension was palpable as almost no one stirred out. Some people who cast their votes said, “We have been forcibly dragged to cast our vote.” There was no way to ascertain whether they were telling a calculated lie to save their skin from the marauding gangs of election-boycotting activists.