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| Dr Beg deserting party in south leaves field open for PDP | | NC fighting lost battle in Srinagar | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Dec 12: As the campaigning for the fourth phase of the ongoing assembly elections came to an end on Friday evening, stakes and tempers were running high in Srinagar and Anantnag districts in Kashmir slated to go for polls on Sunday.
The ruling National Conference which had won all the eight seats in Srinagar in 2008 has kept its fingers crossed as situation this time around is entirely different as most NC candidates are up against tough opponents in their respective constituencies. Most areas of the Srinagar city suffered extensive damage during the September floods this year and people still complain that none of their elected representatives came forward to help them when they needed them most.
The National Conference leaders are well aware about the anti-incumbency factor and their "poor performance" during the past six years. Not many people are happy with the incumbent MLAs and want to show exit door to them.
The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in a bid to get the assembly polls postponed had claimed that if elections are held on time, Srinagar city would witness "zero percent voter turnout," as flood victims won't participate in the election process. In the first three phases of the ongoing polls Omar's prediction has proved wrong and there is every possibility of him being proven wrong again on Sunday as flood victims are firm on their resolve to come out and vote for a change.
At this point of time no one can predict who would the people chose as number of candidates from all the constituencies is more than it used to be in the past. The polls this time around have not remained confined between the bigwigs and a few political parties. Many people have jumped into the fray hoping that they can act as agents of change.
For the ruling National Conference the battle for Srinagar is its pride as people during the past six decades have reposed their faith on the party leadership but the last Parliamentary elections which were held in May this year shook the very foundation of the NC as its patron and former union minister Dr Farooq Abdullah had to bite the dust and PDP's Tariq Hameed Kara managed to secure a decent leads from most assembly segments in Srinagar. Dr Farooq suffering his maiden defeat in his long political career created ripples in the NC camp and its aftershocks are still being felt.
Political analysts are of the opinion that Srinagar this time around is all set to witness high polling percentage and the NC heavyweights can meet the same fate which Dr Farooq met earlier this year. "Boycott factor won't help NC's cause. In last elections we observed that despite boycott people voted for PDP as it was the only available option before them but this time they have many options and it can be anyone's game," said an analyst.
He predicted that results of these elections would bring many new faces to fore in Srinagar and would also end the political careers of many leaders who have survived on boycott during all these years. The eight assembly constituencies slated to go for polls on Sunday are: Amira Kadal, Habba Kadal, Hazratbal, Sonawar, Zadibal, Iddgah, Khanyar, and Batamaloo.
On the other hand NC is all set to face an uphill task in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, considered to be the bastion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). NC's lone face in south Kashmir Dr Mehboob Beg saying goodbye to the party, according to the experts, proved to be the last nail in the party's coffin and its chances of winning any seats in south are bleak.
Out of 16 seats, which are going to polls on Sunday, NC is presently holding all the eight seats of Srinagar, while PDP is holding six seats in south Kashmir and Congress is holding two seats of Dooru and Kokernag. |
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