Brisk polling underway in first phase of J-K Assembly polls
Srinagar (PTI): Long queues were seen at several booths early Wednesday as voting in the first phase of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls began on a brisk note, officials said.
The assembly polls -- the first since the abrogation of Article 370 -- are being held in three phases. Polling is underway in 24 constituencies spread over seven districts of the Union Territory.
This is the maiden assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir in a Union Territory setup, and also the first poll to elect an assembly in the last 10 years.
The Centre abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh -- on August 5, 2019.
A voter turnout of 11.11 per cent was recorded in the first two hours of voting, according to officials.
Voters, especially women and the elderly lined up outside their respective polling booths early morning. Long queues were seen at several booths even before the voting began at 7 am, officials said.
They said the voting gathered pace and queues got longer after the first hour as the morning breeze gave way to sunshine.
The voters said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were getting a chance to elect their assembly members after a long time and they were making the most of this opportunity.
"Today is a festival of democracy. We are electing our representatives after 10 years. A democratically elected government is better than other governments," Bashir Ahmad from Kulgam, said.
He said there were many issues confronting the people of Kashmir but the restoration of statehood was the most important.
"Apart from development, we are voting against what has been done to us. Our statehood has been snatched away, there is an onslaught on us in one way or the other every day. This is a vote against all that," Ahmad said.
All arrangements, including security related, are in place and the polling across the 24 assembly segments is going on smoothly, the officials said.
In the first phase of the three-phase polls, seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir, located on either side of the Pir Panjal mountain range, are voting to choose their representatives.
Over 23 lakh voters will decide the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 Independents, who are running for 24 assembly segments -- eight in three districts of Jammu region and 16 in four districts of Kashmir valley.
The officials said a total of 14,000 polling staff will oversee the process at 3,276 polling stations.
Prominent candidates in Kashmir whose fate will be sealed on Wednesday include CPI (M)'s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, National Conference's Sakina Itoo, and PDP's Sartaj Madni and Abdul Rehman Veeri.
PDP's Iltija Mufti, contesting from Srigufwara-Bijbehara, and the party's youth leader Waheed Para, from Pulwama, are also the contenders to watch for in the first phase.
In Jammu, trying their luck are former ministers Sajjad Kitchloo (NC), Khalid Najib Suharwardy (NC) Vikar Rasool Wani (Congress), Abdul Majid Wani (DPAP), Sunil Sharma (BJP), Shakti Raj Parihar (Doda west), and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, a three-time MLA who is fighting as an Independent after he was denied ticket by DPAP which he had joined after quitting Congress in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad two years ago.
Former MLA Daleep Singh Parihar (BJP), former MLC Firdous Tak and Imtiyaz Shan (PDP), NC's Pooja Thakur, the sitting chairperson of district development council Kishtwar, BJP's young face Shagun Parihar, whose father Ajit Parihar and uncle Anil Parihar were killed by terrorists in November 2018, and Mehraj din Malik of AAP are among other prominent faces in the fray.
Among the constituencies going to the polls on Wednesday are Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, Pahalgam, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban and Banihal.
The polling is scheduled to end at 6 pm.
The other two phases will be held on September 25 and October 1, while the votes will be counted on October 8.
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'Modi and all other PMs have offered chadar': Owaisi blames RSS, BJP for Ajmer Dargah row
New Delhi, Nov 28: All Indian prime ministers, including Narendra Modi, have offered 'chadar' at Ajmer Sharif Dargah and the controversy over the claim that the Sufi shrine was a temple was directly or indirectly linked to the BJP and the RSS, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said on Thursday.
A court on Wednesday admitted a petition seeking to declare the Mughal-era shrine a Shiva temple. Several opposition leaders raised serious concerns over the controversy on the Ajmer Dargah, which comes close on the heels of similar claims made regarding a mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal.
"The Dargah Sharif has been there for 800 years. Every prime minister of the country sends 'chadar' for the dargah during 'Urs'. Official delegations from neighbouring countries come there, Indian diaspora from all over the world visit the dargah... Now suddenly you are raising this issue..." Owaisi told reporters outside Parliament.
"Where will all this stop? What will happen to the Places of Worship Act, 1991?"
The Places of Worship Act 1991 states that the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, must be maintained.
Owaisi continued, "What would Narendra Modi say? The dargah where he offered 'chadar' is not a dargah? What would ASI say?"
"This is being done to destabilise the country... I am saying repeatedly that these things are not in favour of the country. These people are related directly or indirectly with BJP, RSS... no one can deny this," he said.
The Ajmer court issued notices to the Ajmer Dargah Committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Archaeological Survey of India on the plea seeking to declare the shrine a temple. The suit was filed in Ajmer in September.
The court's notice came just days after four people were killed in violence following a court ordering a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, which petitioners said was built after destroying an old temple.
Samajwadi Party's Rampur MP Mohibbullah Nadvi said the petition on Ajmer Dargah was "painful".
"Some people have lost their cool after the 2024 (Lok Sabha) election results as they didn't get the majority. These people want to target a particular community to please the majority. This is their misbelief," he told reporters outside Parliament.
Saharanpur MP Imran Masood said an atmosphere of hatred has been created in the country. "They did it in Sambhal yesterday. Now they did it in Ajmer. What is this drama?" he said.
"BJP and the government should think, this country cannot be run by hatred, you cannot sideline 25 crore people. How would the country develop without their contribution? We are very clear, your party may become stronger by creating hatred, but it is not good for the country," the Congress leader said addressing reporters outside Parliament.
He also targeted the Uttar Pradesh government over the Sambhal violence. "Do Muslim lives not matter? They will shoot us in the head? Stone pelting is wrong but they could have shot at the leg, why did they shoot people in the head and chest?" he said.
Police have denied opening fire at the protesters in Sambhal, saying "rioters" carried out shootings and stone pelting. A magisterial probe into the violence is ongoing.
Samajwadi Party's Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav reiterated her party's demand for a discussion on the Sambhal issue in Parliament.
"Our main issue is that we want a discussion on Sambhal in Lok Sabha. Speaker sir has assured that there will be a discussion. Police personnel are harassing, manipulating people in Uttar Pradesh. The police administration is working like this in the entire state," she said.
Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) MP from Nagina in Uttar Pradesh, Chandra Shekhar said these incidents create a trust deficit in the country.
"What if a Buddhist says there is a Buddhist temple under Hindu temples and demands a probe? Those who are encouraging this should also answer what would be the outcome... Employment, price rise, health, education, farmers, women... these are the issues, should we talk about these issues or religious places?" he said.
"What is this drama, Kashi, Mathura, Sambhal, Ajmer, what more do we have to witness? Where is the prime minister? He and the Supreme Court should take cognisance. This is being done to distract attention from real issues, but the trust deficit it is creating is dangerous," he said. AO SKY
