Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, May 7: Only 17 percent migrants exercised their right to franchise for Baramulla-Kupwara Parliamentary Constituency of North Kashmir, the elections of which were held today.
According to official figures, 3147 migrants cast their votes out of 18,225 displaced voters at specially established 16 polling stations at Jammu, Udhampur and New Delhi.
Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), Migrants Sachin Dev Singh said, 3098 votes were polled by migrants at specially created 13 polling stations at Jammu district out of 6191 migrant voters who had opted for casting vote in Baramulla Constituency by filling up their M Forms.
He said the highest number of 796 votes were polled by Kashmiri migrants at Government Higher Secondary School Jagti A, out of 1500 votes registered at this polling booth while 655 votes were polled by migrants at polling booth B in GHSS Jagti out of 1204 votes.
He said 91 votes out of 243 were polled at polling booth Women College Gandhi Nagar while seven votes out of 20 were polled at Government Engineering College, Canal road Polling Station.
He said 272 out of 442 votes were polled at Director School Education, Muthi , while 62 votes out of 172 were polled at Directorate of Economics and Statics, Janipur Polling Station.
At Polling Station Middle School Purkhoo 134 migrants cast their vote out of 243 while 190 migrants out of 398 exercised their franchise at Agriculture Office, Talab Tillo Polling Station. At Middle School Roop Nagar Polling Station, 386 migrants cast their vote out of 713 registered voters while 153 out of 284 migrant voters polled their votes at Middle School Nagrota.
Mr Singh said 51 migrants out of 132 registered voters exercised their franchise at Barnai Panchyat Ghar polling booth while 317 out of 769 cast their votes at polling booth set up at Agriculture University Complex Udaywala and 29 out of 71 cast their votes at JK Board of School Education Rehari.
According to ARO Udhampur, Ranjit Singh at one polling booth set up for Kashmiri migrants at Udhampur 34 votes were polled out of 62 registered votes while 15 votes were polled out of 25 votes at two polling booths at New Delhi, said ARO Migrants Delhi Mr Fotedar.
There was a huge rush of migrants at two polling booths at Jagti where people were seen in queues for casting their votes. The rush was also seen at Agriculture University Udaywala, M S Roop Nagar and DSE Muthi.
However the migrants at various polling booths lodged their protest against non inclusion of their names in voter lists despite filling up of M Forms and alleged that under a conspiracy their names were not included in the voter lists.
BJP incharge elections, T N Bhat alleged that EVM at Polling Station B Jagti developed a snag during the day and could not function for one and a half hour with the result over 100 migrants could not cast their vote as the officials did not agree to extend the time despite the repeated pleas. He said over 100 migrants including ladies had to return at 5pm from the polling booth without casting their vote.
Terming the procedure of M Forms a cumbersome and time consuming, he demanded that it should be done away with in future so that all migrants can take part in democratic process smoothly.
The election process for migrants is totally a mockery as 70 percent names of displaced Pandits have been erased from voter lists said advocate M L Thusoo chairman Kashmiri Hindu Conference (KHC).
Mr Thusoo who belongs to Kupwara district of North Kashmir said the names of migrants have been deleted from voter lists deliberately as in three districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora the migrant voters number should be touching one lakh and not 18,000 as shown in official records.
He said KHC has lodged a strong protest before Election Commission of India (ECI) as the names of migrant voters are being deleted under a conspiracy.
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