Boycotting pockets turn to ballot box

Kulgam/ Shopian, Sep 18: In south Kashmir’s Kulgam and Shopian districts, the areas which would traditionally boycott polls saw brisk polls on Wednesday.

In Kulgam district’s Bugam village, which reordered almost no voting in the previous elections, long queues of people were seen before polling stations.

“We want to have our own representative government. Over the last five years, we bore the brunt of unemployment,” a voter waiting for his turn said.

The ballooning unemployment and hike in power bills were the dominant issues, spurring people to cast their votes.

“Power tariffs are revised every two months despite the lack of electricity,” said Nazir Ahmad, a voter.

A group of young voters in the village said that despite having higher qualifications there was a dearth of jobs.

“We see no employment opportunity. The posts are being advertised and then scrapped. We are voting to change this,” they said.

In the neighbouring Paniwah village, which also saw less poll percentage in the 20014 assembly polls, the voters were seen coming out of their homes and casting their ballots. The electorate in this village voted for the same issues.

“My children are unemployed and inflated power bills have worsened our problems. We believe the solution to our problems lies in voting and electing our own representatives,” said Abdul Rashid.

The Kulgam assembly constituency recorded a high voter turnout.

In the Shopian district, traditionally poll-boycotting areas like Heff Shirmal and Awneera also witnessed a significant voter turnout.

At the two polling booths in Heff Shirmal, around 500 voters had cast their ballots by 1 pm.

Abdul Rashid Mohand, a septuagenarian voter, said that boycotting of polling during the previous elections had not served any purpose.

“Our children are jobless and the poll boycott could not resolve it,” Mohand said.

In Awneera village, which also experienced less voting during the past elections, people showed up at polling stations to cast their votes.

The villages, which are part of the Zainapora assembly segment, also recorded a high turnout.

The entry of the ex-Jamaat-e-Islami candidates into electoral politics and the absence of boycott calls by both the separatists and militants could be seen as key factors in encouraging people to cast their ballots.