Representational image : PTI file
PULWAMA: For Showkat Ahmed Alai the abrogation of Article 370 is the past and thinking about the future will make life more meaningful. “Whatever happened in August 2019 is the past. We should now seek to make our lives better in future,” he said.
Mr. Alai, a middle-aged daily wager, while standing in the queue, waiting to vote at a polling booth at Kakapora, told this correspondent, “There are many issues like rising unemployment, surge in prices, lack of amenities…we have come out to vote to choose the right candidate who can raise these issues in Parliament”.
Kakapora tehsil nestled along the meandering banks of the Jhelum River apart from rice and apple cultivation is famous for its Ookhu village which has, for being the largest producer of raw materials for pencils, earned itself the title of 'pencil village of India.
But Kakapora like other parts of Pulwama also remained convulsed by regular episodes of violence following the killing of popular Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July 2016. It grabbed the world headlines after a terror attack was carried out by a suicide bomber resulting in the death of 40 CRPF personnel on February 14, 2019.
But on Monday, Pulwama witnessed its residents standing in long queues patiently to exercise their vote. Many of them were the first-time voters who appeared to be more enthusiastic about voting to see if the ballot is really stronger than the bullet and stitches democracy together wherein their rights are acknowledged, their opinions respected, and their needs fulfilled.
“I was excited to cast my vote for the first time,” said Anam Jan as she came out of a polling booth at Naira, another Pulwama village. Asked about the power of vote and her expectations, she said, “The unemployment problem should be solved. There is too much curse of joblessness. There is inflation. I voted in the hope there would be a change for the better.”
But Bashir Ahmed Rather, a resident of Kakapora, saw in people turning up at polling booths in large numbers a rad-e-amal (reaction) to “illegal, unconstitutional and arbitrary” abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A by the Narendra Modi government in August 2019. “I became eligible to vote several years ago but it is for the first time that I am going to vote today. Let me also tell you that there is a world of difference between the voting by our people earlier and their voting today. They have come out in huge numbers to vote today to reply to what they did to us on August 5, 2019.”
Mr. Alai, a middle-aged daily wager, while standing in the queue, waiting to vote at a polling booth at Kakapora, told this correspondent, “There are many issues like rising unemployment, surge in prices, lack of amenities…we have come out to vote to choose the right candidate who can raise these issues in Parliament”.
Kakapora tehsil nestled along the meandering banks of the Jhelum River apart from rice and apple cultivation is famous for its Ookhu village which has, for being the largest producer of raw materials for pencils, earned itself the title of 'pencil village of India.
But Kakapora like other parts of Pulwama also remained convulsed by regular episodes of violence following the killing of popular Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July 2016. It grabbed the world headlines after a terror attack was carried out by a suicide bomber resulting in the death of 40 CRPF personnel on February 14, 2019.
But on Monday, Pulwama witnessed its residents standing in long queues patiently to exercise their vote. Many of them were the first-time voters who appeared to be more enthusiastic about voting to see if the ballot is really stronger than the bullet and stitches democracy together wherein their rights are acknowledged, their opinions respected, and their needs fulfilled.
“I was excited to cast my vote for the first time,” said Anam Jan as she came out of a polling booth at Naira, another Pulwama village. Asked about the power of vote and her expectations, she said, “The unemployment problem should be solved. There is too much curse of joblessness. There is inflation. I voted in the hope there would be a change for the better.”
But Bashir Ahmed Rather, a resident of Kakapora, saw in people turning up at polling booths in large numbers a rad-e-amal (reaction) to “illegal, unconstitutional and arbitrary” abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A by the Narendra Modi government in August 2019. “I became eligible to vote several years ago but it is for the first time that I am going to vote today. Let me also tell you that there is a world of difference between the voting by our people earlier and their voting today. They have come out in huge numbers to vote today to reply to what they did to us on August 5, 2019.”
‘Son of the soil’- People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate- Waheed Ur Rehman Parra said, “These elections are for both…we want to get better amenities for the people and resolve the issue of unemployment and, at the same time, fight for our political rights…our dignity.” He added, “The biggest issue in Kashmir is the cycle of suffocation. People are scared to talk…to express their feelings. We want to end this fear and dread.”
Whatever the impulse, all the four Assembly segments of Pulwama with two of those in neighbouring Shopian recorded over forty percent voter turnout on Monday. Kangan Assembly segment in the Ganderbal district recorded the highest 55. 55 percent followed by Ganderbal at 46.81 percent turnout, the officials said. Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency is spread over 19 Assembly segments in the districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Pulwama and Shopian and has 17,47,810 registered voters. It is for the first time in over three decades that no separatist political or militant organization has issued election boycott calls.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pandurang K Pole said, “I am glad that Srinagar Lok Sabha recorded the highest ever voting percentage of over 38 per cent. This is the highest figure since the eruption of militancy in 1989.” He added that the figure is likely to go up as data is still pouring in from remote areas of the constituency.
According to him, unlike in several elections held in the past over three decades, no polling station witnessed zero per cent polling and no law-and-order incident was reported from anywhere.
J&K Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, wrote on microblogging site ‘X’, “Today, people came out in large numbers to cast their votes in Srinagar Parliamentary constituency and reaffirmed their faith in democracy and the constitution. I commend the hard work by all the stakeholders for free, fair, peaceful and smooth conduct of the polling”.
He added, “It is heartening to see the huge surge in voting percentage in the biggest festival of democracy. I truly appreciate the enthusiasm of electors and hope to see historic turnout in the next two phases. I appeal to all to vote without fear and vote with responsibility and pride”
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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