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| Turmoil buries pre-poll din | | | Gareeb Dass
Jammu | Aug 12
The demand for votes has been replaced by the cries in favour of restoration of land to the Shrine Board in Jammu and by the roar over economic blockade in Kashmir.Prior to the turmoil over the land row and now on economic blockade political leaders had started moving from one corner of the state to the other for mustering voters support.Others were busy in shortlisting candidates who were to be fielded in different constituencies.Politicians had started making claims and counter claims,allegations and couner allegations.The state had started witnessing pre-poll fever despite the fact that the election schedule had not been announced till the end of June.Politicians did not want to get caught napping.They were engaged in finalising their strategies for measuring swords against their foes Top leaders of several political parties had begun raising funds for fighting the election.Some devised a safe course by demanding hefty sums of money from those who were knocking their doors for getting tickets for contesting the poll.Fund raising has become an essential part of the poll process.On the basis of their experience politicians have by now realised that money and muscle power is more important for victory than prepoll promises and poll manifestos.
Voters do no longer evince any interest in going through the poll manifestos.They kow whatever promises political parties make in their manifestos are invariably flouted by those who make such promises.And the number of musclemen swells during the pre-poll campaign.These musclemen besides lower rung party workers have become so wise that they extract money from not one but a couple of parties while professing their support to them.The party workers demand money for pasting and circulating posters which carry the pictures of top leaders and their ideas and promises.The posters are pasted here and there and the rest of the bundles are either sold of thrown in rivers.These workers and musclemen have become adept in extracting more money from political leaders and contestants by making them believe that they are winners and not losers.
All of a sudden the scene gets changed with the cry from separatists and the PDP over the diversion of 800 kanals of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board.Their roar received support from people in Kashmir who took to the streets and clased with the security forces.The agitators were a determined lot and their demand for revocaton of the land order was conceded after the PDP pulled out of the Government.The pre-poll campaign got buried when people in the Jammu region resorted to unprecedented agitation demanding restoration of land to the Shrine Board. Both in Kashmir and in Jammu the plan of political parties for selecting candidates for contesting the election was suspended.The meetings of the parliamentary Boards and election committees were postponed.Kashmir was on fire over what people there called economic blockade.Over half a dozen lives were lost when people took out a symbolic march to Muzaffarabad.People faced severe hardships in the Jammu region on account of prolonged shutdown and curfew restrictions.
Those political leaders who had played a supplementary role in getting the land order revoked faced criticism in Jammu.Many among them were jeered.They felt disheartened as they had fears that their chances for winning the ensuing election had become bleak.As part of damage control exercise they started announcing their support to the Sangarsh Samiti.They started demanding restoration of land to the Board.Still the wind is yet to be favourable for their sail.They would be happy if elections were postponed as they believe that once the dust was settled and the turmoil ended they could win back the support of the voters.Those who stand on a weak wicket too wish the tumoil to continue so that the polls were not held by the end of October.They too are under the impression that once the polls were postponed they would not be held before March-April 2009 and by that time they would have been able to gain added political mileage from the current turmoil. |
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