81.4% voting in Jammu, 3.5% in Valley
Sanjeev Pargal/Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Oct 13: Maintaining trend of two previous phases, Jammu region today again recorded massive turnout of 81.4 percent in third phase of polling for Urban Local Bodies elections while the polling percentage remained extreme low at 3.5 in Kashmir despite huge turnout of 75.3 per cent in Baramulla district.
With today’s voting, Municipal elections have been completed in all 10 districts of Jammu region. Polling in fourth phase on October 16 will be confined to the Kashmir valley. Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region had voted in the first phase itself.
Official sources told the Excelsior that out of four districts that went to polls in third phase today, Samba district in Jammu region recorded highest voting percentage of 81.4 followed by Baramulla district of Kashmir, where 75.3 per cent voters exercised their right to franchise.
However, turnout remained dismal in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, where only 3.2 per cent people cast their votes while in Srinagar just 1.8 per cent voters turned out at the polling booths to elect their representatives for the Urban Local Bodies.
“A total of 16.4 percent turnout was recorded for third phase,” Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Shaleen Kabra said in an official statement. He added that voting percentage in third phase today was 81.4 in Jammu division and 3.5 in Kashmir.
In all three phases, 41.9 percent polling has been recorded across the State including 68.4 percent in Jammu division and 6.7 percent in Kashmir division, Kabra said.
Sources said the turnout was peaceful in all four Urban Local Bodies of Samba district in Jammu region with no complaints of any kind reported from any of the 57 polling stations set up for 31,864 electorates.
Significantly, Uri Municipal Committee in Baramulla district, which recorded turnout of 75.3 percent, the highest in any Urban Local Body in Kashmir valley in three phases so far, is represented by National Conference veteran leader Mohammad Shafi Uri as MLA. Uri has also served as Minister several times and also remained Rajya Sabha member of the NC. Presently, he is party MLA of NC from Uri.
Though NC has boycotted Municipal and Panchayat elections, there were reports that proxy candidates of NC were in the fray in Uri. Congress and BJP leaders from Srinagar had also gone to Uri to campaign in favour of candidates of their respective parties.
A total of 65 candidates have been elected unopposed in the third phase.
“Polling went on smoothly across all four Municipalities of Samba district. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the district,” sources said.
Deputy Commissioner Samba, Sushma Chouhan, SSP Dr Koushal Sharma and Additional SP Faisal Qureshi visited various polling stations to supervise the arrangements and ensure smooth conduct of the elections.
Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Officer has ordered re-poll at Polling Station No. 9 at Bachidarwaza of Makhdoom Sahab (Ward No. 41) on October 16 due to non-replacement of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in time.
In today’s poll, fate of 365 candidates has been sealed in the EVMs, who were in fray for 96 Wards of eight Urban Local Bodies, which involved total electorates of 1,93,990. The Election Commission had set up 300 polling stations for today’s election. Counting of votes for all four phases of Municipal elections will be held on October 20.
Eight Urban Local Bodies, where voting was held today, included Samba, Vijaypur, Ramgarh and Bari Brahamna Municipal Committees in Samba district of Jammu region; Mattan Municipal Committee in Anantnag district, Ward No. 23, Polling Station No. 4 of Anantnag Municipal Council, Uri Municipal Committee in Baramulla district and Ward Nos. 6-15 and 38-53 in Srinagar Municipal Corporation.
In Samba district, highest turnout of 88.06 percent was recorded in Vijaypur Municipal Committee followed by 85.65 percent in Bari Brahmana MC, 78.87 percent in Samba MC and 77.17 percent in Ramgarh MC.
In Samba MC, 12405 votes were polled from out of a total of 15,727 while in Vijaypur MC, 4603 votes were cast from a total of 5227. In Ramgarh MC, 3547 voters used their right to franchise from total electorates of 4596 while in Bari Brahmana MC, 5408 people turned out to cast their votes from out of 6314.
Adequate security personnel were deployed for maintaining law and order and Observers, Zonal and Sectoral Officers monitored the polls to ensure free and fair elections in Samba, sources said.
Long queues of voters were witnessed outside many polling stations in all four Municipal bodies of Samba district, they said.
“This is for the first time I am voting in any elections. It is my right to choose a representative who could work for the welfare of the people,” a first time voter Monika said after casting her vote at Government Higher Secondary School at Badani in Samba.
Another first time voter, Sonika, said she dedicated her vote to strengthen the democracy in the country.
Vote is our right and we should not waste this opportunity,” she said.
The first phase of elections covering three districts of Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri on October 8 recorded 65 per cent voter turnout while the second phase on October 10 covering six districts of Kathua, Udhampur, Ramban, Doda, Reasi and Kishtwar witnessed 78.6 per cent voting.
The fourth phase on October 16 will be held in six districts of Kashmir valley.
Municipal elections are being held in four phases, covering 79 Municipal bodies with an electorate of about 17 lakh. A total of 3,372 nominations were filed for 1145 Wards.
The counting of votes will be held on October 20.
Brisk polling was witnessed in border town of Uri where polling was held today along with 26 Wards of Srinagar city where the percentage of the voting was very low.
The polls were held under tight security to prevent any disturbance in the poll process. Police and CRPF had been deployed heavily in and around the Polling Stations in Srinagar to prevent any trouble.
The vehicle checking, frisking of pedestrians and area domination was conducted in Srinagar to avert any untoward incident or possible attacks by the militants.
Adequate arrangements were made for security of the candidates and area domination was conducted to prevent harassment of voters.
The security in the wards of Srinagar Municipal Corporation of Lal Chowk, Rajbagh, Ikhraj Pora, Mehjoor Nagar, Natipora, Chanpora, Budshah Nagar, Baghat-e-Barzulla, Rawalpora, Hyderpora, Khankahi Moulla, Mahraj Gunj, Makhdoom Sahib, Jamia Masjid, Khawaja Bazar, Aqilmir Khanyar, Rozabal, Daulatabad, Islamyarbal, Nawab Bazar, Nawa Kadal, Safa Kadal, Rathpora, Eidgah, Palpora and Tarbal was tight.
Long queues were seen outside Polling Stations in Uri in Baramulla district today while in Srinagar, the Stations were deserted.
A resident of Uri after casting vote in a Polling Station in the border district said: “People are in search of development and they want to end un-employment. They are of the view that they should elect their representative today and similarly participate in the Assembly elections as well. People will benefit from the elections in the form of development in their areas.”
Another resident said: “People are voting as there are various issues faced by people. There are various works including roads, drains and many other issues that are pending. Today, people are voting so that their problems would be redressed”.
The former NC leader and Independent candidate from Rawalpora ward in Srinagar, Junaid Mattoo, while casting his vote in Rambagh Polling Station said: “The Urban Local Body elections are the elections of poor people, local issues and in this election; we empower the most appropriate candidate for transparent governance at local level. I think this election is one of the important elections for the development of the society”.
Asked about the competition among the candidates in this election, he said: “There is lot of competition as over 300 candidates have participated in the election. Competition is good and the results would come after the votes are counted but we hope that the elected leadership would not only redress local issues of the city but it will be transparent, honest and effective”, he said.
Asked about the speculations that you will be the Mayor of Srinagar, Mattoo said the Mayor will be decided in the Council not in the elections.
Asked about if you are regretting the decision of resigning from NC, he said: “I have resigned on conviction and I already said that if I wanted to boycott the elections, then I wouldn’t have joined the mainstream. If you are in the mainstream and are sitting on a side in the elections, then why are you in the mainstream. You are in the mainstream in a conflict zone, despite security concerns, despite social legitimacy, then why are you in the mainstream when you are boycotting the elections”, he said.
“There are people who are making a hue and cry over low turnout. In Parliament elections when Frooq Abdullah was elected as a member of Parliament, the turnout in Srinagar district was 1.98 percent, if that is legitimate, then how is this illegitimate. These are the same voters and if the voters were good when they voted in your elections then how are they bad today. I do think that these elections are important, these elections are for transparency and local representative leadership. It is a conflict zone, whatever the turnout is, all elections post 1996 have been challenged and you have to meet that challenge, you have to keep encouraging the voters and not vilify them. Some mainstream leaders are calling these voters criminals and fringe elements, my question to that leader is why does he keep calling DCs to change polling booth locations. So, these leaders are calling for changing poll booth locations for their proxy candidates”, he said.
Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Syed Abid Rashid, said that the people are participating in the electoral process in good numbers including elderly persons. “Every possible facility has been provided by the administration on ground level. Our efforts are to make the participation of differently abled persons in the elections easy and the main focus is on how to make the elections participative and inclusive. We are making sure the elections are conducted in free, fair and transparent environment”, he said.
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