 |
|
Thursday, September 26, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
|
Srinagar, Budgam dists witness poor voting Rural voter turnout higher Less than 10 votes
cast at VIP booth NC candidate escapes bid on life |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 morcha candidates seek repoll MLA: NC, BJP befooling people Probe Gogji Bagh
incident: Gupta
|
|
Srinagar, Budgam dists witness poor voting Srinagar, September 25 The separatist Hurriyat Conference, which had come out openly with a poll boycott call in the 1996 elections, this time asked the people to stay away from the poll process as it was in no way linked to the resolution of the Kashmir issue. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) here declared that there was no binding or instruction for the people regarding the poll process. It asked its cadres and the people to act voluntarily as per their wishes regarding any candidate. Mr B.K. Vaishnavi, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate from Habbakdal constituency, said here today that a poor turnout in Srinagar “traditionally goes favourable for the ruling party”. He claimed that the low turnout was ensured by highlighting the Gogji Bagh incident, which created fear among the local populace. “The voters could not come out because of the tense atmosphere”, he told a press conference here. Mr Vaishnavi, one of the 11 candidates in Habbakadal constituency that witnessed the lowest ever poll percentage of less than one per cent yesterday, alleged that the ruling party had pressed into service bogus voters with fake voter identity cards. He also displayed four fake identity cards surrendered by bogus voters, two of these issued by the government and two by the National Conference. On the other hand the Hurriyat Conference has said majority of the people boycotted the poll and whatever polling took place had “no political implication” vis-a-vis the settlement of Kashmir issue. An APHC statement said here that the Gogji Bagh incident on the eve of polling was “stage-managed to give the false impression of insecurity in Srinagar as the main reason behind low voter turnout”. |
|
|
Rural voter turnout higher Jammu, September 25 In phase one, the towns of Sopore and Baramula recorded less than 6 per cent voting and this figure reached with the participation of electorate living in the villages that fall in the two urban constituencies. The rural-urban divide was more apparent in Srinagar and Budgam districts. If Srinagar district recorded 11 per cent voting, it was the result of reasonable polling in the two rural Assembly segments of Ganderbal and Kangan. Otherwise, in the eight Assembly segments of the summer capital, the voting percentage was between 2 and 3 and Habbakadal, considered to be the heart of Srinagar city, registered just 1 per cent polling. The five rural constituencies in Budgam district recorded 51 per cent polling, but this figure was possible because of heavy polling registered in the rural belts which compensated for the poor polling in the four towns of Chrar-i-Sharif, Budgam, Chadoora and Beerwah. The reason for this trend is that while the threat perception was there, the separatists, including those belonging to the Hurriyat Conference and the Democratic Freedom Party, have their headquarters in Srinagar from where their activists had launched a whispering campaign against those getting ready for polling their votes. The case was similar in the Jammu region. It was surprising that the three seats in the Jammu city, comprising 80 per cent of urban voters, registered 40 per cent to 42 per cent polling against the over 60 per cent in the rural segments of the remaining 10 constituencies. The backward Chhamb constituency recorded the highest polling percentage of 70. Ignoring the threat perception, rural voters of Akhnoor, R.S. Pora and Samba sectors came out to register a polling percentage to over 60. As far as Kashmiri migrants are concerned in Jammu 38 per cent voters cast their votes while in Srinagar 1 per cent to 3 per cent turned up.
|
|
Less than 10 votes
cast at VIP booth Srinagar, September 25 The votes were mainly cast by members of the Abdullah family, his personal security officer and assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Personal Secretary Vijay Dhar and his wife. Reports said all voters came in the morning to exercise their franchise. After that no voter turned up at the booth. After exercising his vote, Dr Abdullah expressed confidence that the National Conference would form the next government under the chief ministership of Omar Abdullah. He blamed Pakistan for trying to disrupt the poll. “The neighbouring country was using every method to keep away from the poll,” he had said.
UNI |
|
|
NC candidate escapes bid on life Srinagar, September 25 An official spokesman said ruling NC candidate Abdul Wahid Shan from Gool-Arnas Assembly constituency had a narrow escape when an explosive device went off seconds before he reached Dharam village last evening. He said as soon as Mr Shan’s motorcade reached the area, there was a loud explosion. However, no one was wounded in the blast. At least 14 persons, including seven security force personnel and three militants, were killed and seven others injured in separate incidents in the Kashmir valley since yesterday, while a policeman was shot dead and another injured by militants in a shootout here today. Police constable Feroz Ahmad was shot dead and another policeman Abdul Majid was injured when militants fired at them at Maharaja Bazar here. Four jawans and two militants were killed in an encounter at Wagoora Pathgam in Kreeri area of Baramula district last night. Five security force jawans and one civilian were also injured in the encounter. Two AK rifles, three magazines, 15 rounds, one pistol, two pistol magazines, seven rounds and four hand grenades were recovered from the site. Militants shot dead three persons in separate incidents in Kupwara district yesterday. Jan Mohammad Bookda was killed in Rashanpora forests. Farooq Ahmad Lone was shot dead in his house at Chanjmulla last night while Ghulam Mohiuddin Sheikh of Patushai Lolab was shot dead at the village today. One militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Hallan Manzgam in Damhal Hanjipora in Anantnag district today. One security force jawan was injured when militants hurled a grenade towards a patrol party at Gondipora Beerwah in Budgam district last evening. The security forces arrested a militant of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Safeer Ahmad Mir at Chontiwari, Sogam in Kupwara district, and recovered one magazine and some ammunition. The security forces also recovered seven hand grenades, one rifle grenade, one AK magazine, 76 AK rounds and three wireless set antennas from Goharpora village in Budgam district yesterday. |
|
3 morcha
candidates seek repoll Jammu, September 25 The candidates — Prof Virender Gupta, Mr Omkar Seth and Mr Tilak Raj Sharma — told newsmen here that NC candidates
misused the official machinery and carried out polling through proxy. They demanded an inquiry into the incident in which 1,700 voters polled in Gujjar Nagar polling station and in
R.S. Pora constituency on the same day yesterday. They alleged that the election authorities had not issued electoral identity cards in time to several hundred eligible voters. As a result, they were deprived of their voting rights. Professor Gupta and Mr Seth said the government had deployed local officers in polling stations on the outskirts of the city who allegedly helped the NC candidates, whereas within the urban areas polling officers from Punjab performed their duty honestly. They also charged an assistant returning officer with acting as an “agent of the
NC.” The state morcha candidates have sent a written complaint to the Election Commission, demanding inquiry and order repoll wherever it was called for. The BJP candidate from Gandhinagar, Mr Charanjit Singh Khalsa, also demanded a repoll on several polling booths on the plea that the NC candidate misused the government machinery and resources” to rig the polling. He was also critical of the role played by the Congress in Gandhinagar in forcing people to cast votes in support of its candidate. |
|
MLA: NC, BJP befooling people Jammu, September 25 Mrs Asha Kumari, who is campaigning for the Congress candidates in Kathua district where polling will be held on October 1, pointed out that while the National Conference President, Mr Omar Abdullah, was a minister in the BJP led NDA government at the Centre, both parties were trying to create an impression here that they were having different policies. |
|
Probe Gogji Bagh
incident: Gupta Jammu, September 25 In a statement issued here today, Prof Gupta said the inquiry was needed in the light of the persistent reports that the incident was a stage managed affair and the ruling National Conference had adopted this tactic to keep the voters away from polling booths. He also urged the Chief Election Commission to investigate the reason behind the poor polling percentage in Srinagar district. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
