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| Amira Kadal, Habba Kadal unlikely to go to BJP kitty | | 50% KPs held aloof from election | | Masood Malik
Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 15: The Kashmiri Pandits once again demonstrated their lack of interest in the ongoing electoral exercise and did not vote in large numbers in the constituencies where their number was quite substantial. On the other hand, Kashmiri Muslim voters exercised their right to vote in good numbers to ensure that the BJP failed to open its account in Kashmir Valley. That the KPs had been consistently losing interest in the assembly election could be seen from the fact that while 60 per cent, 58 per cent and 56 per cent KP voters exercised their right to vote in the first, second and third phases, respectively, only 50 per cent of KP migrant voters exercised their franchise in the fourth phase of election completed on Sunday. This sharp decline doesn't suggest anything else. It only suggests that they felt betrayed by the BJP, which, according to the community leaders, "turned out to be worse than the Congress".
The BJP was hoping to win at least two of the eight seats in Srinagar where people went to the polls on Sunday and it was largely banking on the KP votes. These seats were Habba Kadal and Amira Kadal. The BJP will surely bite dust in both these constituencies. There are two reasons for that. One, the KPs virtually held aloof from the electoral exercise. Only 5169 of the registered 30,364 voters in Srinagar's 8 assembly constituencies cast their votes. In Habba Kadal assembly constituency, where the BJP had fielded Moti Koul, who is not popular among his own community members, the KP voter turnout was less as compared to five other assembly constituencies in Srinagar. Only 54.42 percent M-form migrant voters exercised their franchise in Habba Kadal segment.
Two, the overall poll percentage in this constituency was 21.01. In 2008, 11.62 per cent of the total electorate in this constituency had exercised their right to vote. In other words, the Muslim participation in the constituency this time was high as compared to their participation in the 2002 and 2008 assembly elections. Since they were determined to ensure the defeat of the BJP candidate, they came out in large numbers.
The story of Amira Kadal Constituency, where the BJP fielded a strong votary of Article 370 and state's special status Hina Bhat, was no different. Hina Bhat, who forced the BJP to give up its ideology by declaring in Srinagar that she would pick up gun and turn militant in case the BJP abrogated Article 370, like Moti koul, is also destined to suffer a defeat. Of 1356 M-form voters in Amira Kadal, only 837 cast their vote and the overall poll percentage in this constituency was 24.87. In 2008, the poll percentage in this constituency was 14.98. This means a huge jump of 10 per cent. Like in the Habba Kadal assembly constituency, the Muslim voters in Amira Kadal constituency also voted in good numbers to see to it that the BJP candidate lost the election.
It is not important who wins or who loses the election. What is important to note is the decline in the voting percentage as far as the KP votes are concerned. But it would be too much to expect that the BJP would change its line. The BJP seems determined to appease the fundamentalists in Kashmir at the cost of its own core constituency and the KPs, victims of secessionist and sectarian violence, have also made up their mind to show the BJP its rightful place. |
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