BEERWAH : Buoyed by the candidature of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for this assembly segment in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, people today thronged the polling stations in large numbers to vote for the Abdullah scion, who is for the first time fighting from outside the traditional family stronghold of Ganderbal constituency.
Waiting in long queues for their turn to vote on a chilly morning, a group of youth, wearing traditional cloaks, ‘pherans’ and keeping themselves warm with ‘kangris’ (earthen pots filled with charcoal), said the National Conference leader’s announcement to fight the polls from the constituency had infused a new hope and enthusiasm among the people here.
“We were not expecting Omar to fight from here as the Abdullah family had always fought the polls from Ganderbal, but once the announcement was made, there was a lot of excitement as was evident during the campaign,” a youth Farooq Ahmad Tantary said.
31-year-old Tantary said it was an “honour” for the people of Beerwah that the chief minister had chosen to fight the polls from the constituency and by voting in large numbers people want to show their love to Omar.
“The youth like me are thrilled that he (Omar) is contesting from here and we want to show our love and gratitude to him by voting in large numbers for him,” Tantray said.
A first-time voter, Aadil Ahmad (23), said Omar was an “honest” politician and does not make false promises.
“We have their faith in him. He is an honest politician. He does what he says and does not make fake promises. We have seen that even before he decided to contest from here,” Ahmad said.
He remembers an incident when Omar had toured the constituency, much before the polls were announced, and the people had demanded a degree college.
“He (Omar) had categorically told the people that he could not make an announcement just to please them. So people asked him to leave the area and not visit again. We thought he had out rightly rejected the demand, but we were pleasantly surprised when a degree college was announced for us. That demonstrated his honesty,” he said.
An elderly, Abdul Rahim (63), said a candidate’s credentials matter in an election and people feel that a “big shot” candidate like Omar would certainly do a lot for the constituency.
“He is the chief minister and a big shot political leader. We feel that he would be able to change the fortunes of the constituency and do a lot for the people,” Rahim said, adding he was waiting in the queue since 7:30 am.
A young girl, Nazir Bano (22), who also voted for the first time, said electing a candidate like Omar for their constituency would help in its development.
“He is world famous and has done a lot of good work for the state. He gave Ganderbal a central university. If he gets elected, our area will have a new identification and would see tremendous development in terms of infrastructure and tourism,” she said, adding “we will be proud of electing Omar from here”.
The residents in Beerwah say though the other candidates– of PDP and Congress – also enjoy “good support” in some pockets of the constituency, with a high-profile candidate like Omar in the fray, the contest is “almost one-sided”. (AGENCIES)
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