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| High voter turnout reduces importance of Pandit votes | | |
Though over 20,000 Kashmiri Pandits cast their votes in Phase 1 and Phase 2 polling while being away from their homeland,their vote may not decide the fate of any candidate who is in the poll fray in the 14 constituencies where the polling has ended.The Election Commission had made an elaborate arrangement for Pandit migrant voters,living in the plains in Jammu,Delhi and elsewhere,to cast their votes in their respective areas. Living in exile away from their villages in north Kashmir, around 17,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandits voted during the second phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.Votes were cast at 26 special polling booths established for nine Assembly constituencies in the two districts of Kupwara and Kulgam in the Valley.The constituencies are Karnah, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara, Langate, Kulgam, Home-Shalibugh, Noorabad and Devsar. No Pandit voter is registered in Karnah.First-time voters who had not seen their villages came to polling stations to exercise their democratic right. Long lines were seen at the camps in Muthi, Mishriwala, Nagrota and Jagti.Scattered across the Valley, there are more than 92,000 voters in 44 Assembly constituencies of the Valley. Political parties and candidates organised rallies at camps and colonies in Jammu.
These rallies in the migrant camps were organized by mainstream political leaders and contesting candidates as they had believed that majority of voters may respond to the separatists' call for poll boycott.In case various constituencies witnessed very poor polling Pandit voters could make or mar one's fortune.There have been occasions when winning candidates in some constituencies in the valley credited their success to the support of migrant voters.But the credit was given when several constituencies in the valley witnessed between 10 and 20 per cent polling. Even prior to the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in 1990 there was not a single constituency,except for Habba kadal,where Pandits outnumbered muslim voters. However, delimitation carried out during the time when the Government was headed by Sheikh Abdullah ,the then Revenue Minister, Mirza Afzal Beg,is said to have manipulated in a way which transferred muslim dominated areas into Habba Kadal constituency,especially the belt in and around Sanat Nagar and Barazulla.Well Habba Kadal constituency has elected a number of Kashmiri Pandits but not on the strength of the community they belonged to but as candidates fielded either by the National Conference or by the Congress.If in 2002 election Raman Mattoo,who was in the fray as an independent candidate,won the Habba Kadal seat it was the result of very poor polling and support from migrant Pandit voters.
However,this time Pandits may not play any decisive role in the light of heavy polling in the first two phases. In both the phases the polling percentage ranged between 70 and 71.And mainstream political leaders,besides senior separatist leader,Syed Ali Shah Geelani,have stated that Kashmir witnessed heavy polling despite call for poll boycoltt given by Hurriyat Conference leaders,simply to defeat the BJP candidates.Reports said that a word had gone round the Valley which had cautioned voters against remaining indoors on the days of polling. By responding to the poll boycott call,given by the separatists,BJP candidates could win by securing support of Pandit voters.Well those who had thought so were wrong because majority of Pandit who cast their votes did not vote only for BJP. They had voted for the PDP,others for the NC,yet others for the Congress.Well heavy polling has reduced the significance of Kashmir Pandit voters. |
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