18.4.11

Panchayat polls in Kashmir

Kashmiris defied targeted killings, lashing rains and boycott calls to vote in droves in the second phase of the staggered panchayat polls on Sunday. An unprecendented 82% of them turned up a day after a 40-year-old woman candidate was killed by terrorists in central Kashmir, an improvement on the 78% turnout in the first phase on Wednesday. The turnout was a huge jump even on the 2008 assembly election when the average was 70%. Hundreds of voters queued up to vote at Lar in Ganderbal despite the morning chill. CM Omar Abdullah represents Ganderbal. The constituency has been Abdullahs’ pocketborough since Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s time. Progress is visible in Ganderbal. The roads may be unimpressive but the inauguration of the local secretariat here this month made people take note of the fruit of development. The debate now is on how the Panchayat system can improve grassroots growth. Voters said they have seen enough violence in the last 20 years; the woman candidate’s killing would not deter them. The lines outside Lar’s polling booth at a government school grew longer and the mood was optimistic. A voter said people no longer scurry back home after voting; they linger around in sheds drinking tea. This mood seems to have swept villages across Jammu & Kashmir. Kupwara, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Budgam and Kulgam in the Valley recorded a turnout of 85%, 87%, 85%, 77%, 81%. Udhampur, Samba and Jammu in Jammu division recored a turnout of 77%, 84% and 83%, said officials.

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