The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	It’s neck and neck in Jammu segments M.L. Kak Tribune News Service Jammu, September 17 With six days left for the second phase of polling in the 13 constituencies of Jammu district, the poll campaign has turned hectic with multi-coloured banners and flags of contesting parties fluttering in crowded marketplaces. Out of the six districts in Jammu region, the district of Jammu has six key constituencies where the voters will decide the fate of five ministers and the Vice-President of the PCC, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma. It is in this segment that four trusted men of Dr Farooq Abdullah, Mr Ajay Sadhotra, Mr S.S. Slathia, Mr Ajat Shatru and Mr Harbans Singh, are seeking re-election from the Marh, Vijaypur, Nagrota and Gandhi Nagar constituencies, respectively. What has made pre-poll predictions difficult is the large number of candidates in each constituency with Jammu West on the top with 20 candidates in the fray. There are over 10.85 lakh voters in the 13 constituencies. In 1996 the BJP had polled 24.87 per cent votes followed by the Congress (19.32), the NC (19.23), the BSP (18.96) and the Janata Dal (7.94 per cent). The BJP had contested all 13 seats and bagged four, the Congress 13 seats but had won one, the BSP had secured two seats out of 12 and the NC four. The BJP may not fare well this time because of internal dissensions and on account of the RSS-led state morcha having fielded candidates in five constituencies considered to be BJP strongholds. Indications are that the BJP loss may be the Congress gain. The NC is concentrating on five constituencies of Marh, Vijaypur, Gandhi Nagar, Akhnoor and Nagrota. In 1996 the Janata Dal had contested 11 seats and won two, but this time its candidates may not be able to cut much ice with voters as five of its sitting MLAs have either joined the NC or the Congress. Each constituency is set to witness a multi-cornered contest. Primarily, in 10 constituencies it will be either a three-cornered or a four-cornered contest. The main players in these 10 constituencies are the Congress, the BJP, the NC, the State Morcha, the PDP and the BSP. The reasonable turnout of voters in Poonch, Rajouri, Kupwara and Baramula districts, considered militancy-infested areas, is likely to encourage voters in the 13 constituencies in Jammu district. Poll analysts say if the 23 constituencies that went to the polls on September 16 could register 44 per cent polling, the voting percentage in the 13 constituencies in Jammu district should not be less than 55 per cent. Out of the total 1,032 polling stations, over 300 have been declared sensitive and are in the border areas of Samba, R.S. Pora, and Akhnoor. Congress workers from the Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal have reached Jammu to assist poll managers to muster support. The RSS-led State Morcha is being helped by Bajrang Dal activists from outside the state. The BJP has requisitioned the services of party workers from neighbouring states and senior BJP leaders from Delhi, including Ms Sushma Swaraj and Ms Uma Bharti, will reach Jammu to garner support. The NC and the PDP alone are banking on the charisma of local party leaders. Dr Abdullah, Mr Omar Abdullah and Ms Mehbooba Mufti, Vice-President, PDP, are attracting large crowds. Indications are that it is likely to be a neck and neck contest in all 13 constituencies.
	Habbakadal residents in no mood to vote Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 17 Traditionally considered a stronghold of the ruling National Conference , the Habbakadal Assembly constituency of Srinagar is sure to spring many surprises this time. Not only has this segment invited 11 nominations, the largest in Srinagar district, it has also invited maximum nominations from Kashmiri migrants ,who do not reside in Srinagar anymore. Out of the 11 candidates contesting from this key constituency, nine are Hindu migrants, who have not returned to their gutted homes ever since they were forced out of the valley in 1991. The largest number of Kashmiri migrant voters come from Habbakadal. Out of 56,632 migrant voters who will exercise franchise from Srinagar in the second phase of polling on September 24, about 23,233 are from Habbakadal. What makes Habbakadal interesting for poll observers is not only the fact that over half the voters, being migrants, will poll from outside the valley, but also that 90 per cent candidates will canvas from outside. Given this curious arrangement in Habbakadal, once a Kashmiri Pandit dominated area, poll predictions become difficult. More so because not even one migrant candidate has started canvassing in Habbakadal. Most residents of Habbakadal, which now has six Pandit families as against 700 during the pre-militancy days, still don’t know who is fighting from their segment. Not a single person contacted by the Tribune knew that nine out of the 11 candidates were not from Habbakadal or the valley. No candidate has yet organised any election rally in the constituency. Some people say they have heard about the ruling NC candidate, Ms Shamima Firdaus. Others argue they have not seen her canvassing. The rest of the 10 candidates are non existent for Habbakadal residents, who are in no mood to vote. Few others who want to vote say they do not know who the candidates are. Among migrant candidates contesting from Habbakadal are Mr Ashok Kak(Independent), Mr Brij Kishen Vaishnavi (People’s Democratic Party), Mr Bharat Bhushan Kaul (Shiv Sena), Mr Rattan Lal Bhan (Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party), Mr Kakaji (Indt), Capt S.K.Tikoo (Awami League), Mr H.L. Chatta (BJP) and Mr Raman Matoo (independent). Significantly, the votes of the NC, which had fielded Mr. P.L. Handoo from Habbakadal in the 1996 Assembly poll, are likely to be divided this time. After his death, his son-in-law Raman Matoo is contesting from Habbakadal but not on the NC ticket. After being denied the ticket by the NC, which is fielding Ms Shamima Firdaus, Mr Matoo is contesting as an Independent. With a significant wave s in favour of the late MLA Handoo, Mr Raman Matoo is likely to rip the NC votebank apart in Habbakadal. Candidates from Habbakadal seem to be in no mood to woo the voters. Mr Bansi Lal, one of the 10 Kashmiri Pandits in Habbakadal, said there was no election wave. His son, Mr Sunil Razdan, said that voting was no solution to the Kashmir imbroglio. Manzoor Ahmad, a resident, said Muslims in Habbakadal missed their Hindu neighbours. “At least I will not vote. I don’t feel like it. This was once a Hindu majority area, which now has only six Hindu families. We want our Hindu neighbours back,” he said. Abdul Haq, a shopowner, said not one public meeting had been organised by any candidate of the area.
	Candidate from Lolab threatens to pull out Srinagar, September 17 An Independent candidate from the Lolab constituency in Kupwara district today threatened to pull out from the elections alleging inadequate security, malpractices by the ruling National Conference and inaction of the election machinery. “I will have to rethink about my participation in the poll if the present scenario regarding my security and malpractices indulged in by the ruling party continues,” Abdul Haq Khan told reporters here. “I have been provided 16 men of the SSB, who at times I have to protect. When my friend Mushtaq Ahmad Lone was killed, these people ran for cover instead of providing him security. What kind of security is this,” Mr Khan said. “Khan claimed that his repeated requests to SP Kupwara to strengthen his security fell on deaf ears and he demanded that the officer be transferred. “Life is very dear to me.. I will take a decision on my continuation in a day or two after meeting my supporters,” he said. Alleging irregularities in the electoral rolls, Mr Khan said he found that as many as 44 underage and 19 fictitious voters had been registered on the rolls. He further alleged that a number of government employees were actively campaigning for the ruling party candidates and the election observers were expressing helplessness when the issue was taken up with them. PTI
	PTV announces poll that was not Srinagar, September 17 The false propaganda of Pakistan television stood exposed yet again when the channel claimed that voters were dragged out of their houses in the Lolab Assembly constituency in Kupwara district without realising that the elections were countermanded there after the death of Jammu and Kashmir Minister Mushtaq Ahmed Lone. “People were dragged out by Indian Army in the Lolab constituency and forced to vote,” said the newsreader on Pakistan Television last night in its prime time bulletin. Elections to this Assembly constituency would now be held on October 8 along with Doda district. This was not an islolated case of false propaganda by the Pakistan television, which went on to say that several polling staff were killed when militants ambushed polling stations in Kupwara, Baramulla and Rajouri. The 30-minute news telecast devoted nearly 20 minutes to suggest that the elections were farce in the first phase and even doubted that the government would continue with its remaining phases. PTI
	Hizbul offers 1 lakh to kill candidate Jammu, September 17 Apparently worried over the voters’ response, Pakistan backed militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has offered Rs 1 lakh to any member of its cadre for killing a candidate contesting the Jammu and Kashmir elections. This came to light when the Army intercepted a message of the Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) yesterday, a Northern Command spokesman said here today. The message read, “Try to target at least one candidate in each constituency and get Rs 1 lakh cash prize as a reward.” PTI
	Voter turnout less than that in 1996 Srinagar, September 17 Barring the frontier district of Kupwara, the poll percentage in Kargil, Rajouri, Poonch and Baramula districts in the first phase of Jammu and Kashmir elections yesterday nosedived compared to the 1996 poll. The border district of Poonch, which witnessed shelling by Pakistani troops during yesterday’s polling in Surankote, Mendhar and Poonch-Haveli, was the biggest loser with 48 per cent balloting as compared to 69.21 per cent in the 1996 assembly elections. The ruling National Conference which polled 43.09 per cent votes in 1996, bagged all three seats. The Congress got just 19.81 per cent of the votes. The 10 Assembly constituencies in Baramula also witnessed a low poll percentage this time mainly because of the poll boycott call given by secessionists. The district recorded just 37 per cent polling as against 56.36 per cent during last elections, a loss of 19.36 per cent. The ruling NC got six seats after securing 37.87 per cent polled votes followed by the Congress with 24.12 per cent and Janata Dal 11.52 per cent, both of which won one seat each. Two seats went to independents who secured 24.71 per cent of the votes. Two seats in Kargil district —Zanaskar and Kargil— which witnessed a record 80.38 per cent turnout in 1996 lost 13.38 per cent this time as only 67 per cent voters cast their votes, though the impact of the poll boycott call was not witnessed during campaigning. Both the seats were won by the NC which secured 54.85 per cent polled votes against 31.21 per cent polled by the Congress. The four Assembly segments in Rajouri district — Noushera, Darhal, Rajouri and Kalakot — also witnessed a decrease of 13.09 per cent voters this time. About 60.09 per cent voters cast their votes in 1996 as against 48 per cent this time. Two seats each in Rajouri district went to the Congress and National Conference which polled 38.15 per cent and 35.14 per cent votes, respectively in 1996. However, to the satisfaction of the authorities, there was a 0.5 per cent increase in the voter turnout in the four Assembly segments in the frontier district of Kupwara where 40 per cent ballots were polled as against 39.5 per cent in 1996. The National Conference made a clean sweep in Kupwara, winning all five seats after securing 51.74 per cent polled votes in 1996. UNI
	683 EVMs kept in strongrooms Jammu, September 17 As many as about 683 electronic voting machines (EVMs), in which the fate of 50 candidates from Rajouri and Poonch were sealed in the first phase of Jammu and Kashmir poll, were taken to the district headquarters to be kept in strongrooms till the counting was taken up on October 10, official sources said here today. As many as 346 EVMs used in three Assembly segments of Poonch-Haveli, Mendhar and Surankote would be kept at Seshmahal in Poonch while 337 EVMs used in Nowshera, Darhal, Rajouri and Kalakote segments would be kept in Government Degree College in Rajouri town, they said. While 17 aspirants are in the fray in three assembly segments in Poonch, 33 candidates, including two MLAs, are in the fray in four segments of Rajouri district. PTI
	Leaders divided over statehood issue Tribune News Service Jammu, September 17 People are confused here as most of the national level parties have rejected the demand of statehood for Jammu or trifurcation of the state by granting Union Territory status to Ladakh, but their local leaders were supporting the demand in these Assembly elections. The contradictory stand of these parties at the Centre and the local level has raised doubts among the masses who were generally feeling the pinch of discrimination in comparison to Jammu and Ladakh regions by the successive Kashmiri dominated governments in the state. Allegations of “step-motherly” treatment with these regions have increased under the present National Conference regime of Dr Farooq Abdullah. Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, a former Prime Minister, today opposed the demand of trifurcation although the local unit of his Janata Dal (S) was a constituent of a front which was spearheading the issue. The state president of the party, Mr Dhanraj Bargotra, who was with Mr Deve Gowda when he made these remarks on the issue, had to cut a sorry figure as he had been strongly advocating the separation of Jammu from the Kashmir valley. The BJP leadership even at the Central level has rejected the demand for trifurcation, but the party has made seat adjustments with the Jammu State Morcha (JSM) which is contesting the election on the slogan of statehood for Jammu. Interestingly, the JSM is being backed by the RSS which is the backbone the BJP. All this leaves people guessing if the JSM candidates would stick to the demand incase they win as most of them are either the RSS or the BJP activists. Mr Deve Gowda supported the demand for a little more autonomy for the state but the BJP was opposed to the same. The Congress has been accusing the National Conference of discriminating between the three regions but has rejected the demand of trifurcation. The PCC chief, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, has said that statutory bodies would be set up in the state to ensure development and balanced flow of funds to all three regions. Mr Azad has accused the BJP and the ruling National Conference of trying to befool the people by continuing to be in alliance to remain in power although the ideology of both the parties regarding Jammu and Kashmir was poles apart while the BJP was demanding abrogation of Article 370, the National Conference has stressed for more autonomy in its election manifesto. The Jammu and Kashmir national Panthers Party headed by Mr Bhim Singh had promised that it would launch a “quit Jammu Movement” against the Kashmiri rulers and strive for reorganisation of the state and establishing the “Jammu Himalaya Rajya” comprising of the entire Jammu province.
	Gowda opposes trifurcation Tribune News Service Jammu, September 17 Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, a former Prime Minister and leader of the Janata Dal (secular), has “totally” opposed the idea of trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir, but has advocated a little more autonomy for the state. Mr Deve Gowda, who was talking to mediapersons before launching the election campaign of the Janata Dal (S) here today, said trifurcation of the sensitive state would destroy the secular and democratic system of the country. He, however, stressed on the need to remove the regional imbalances which were causing frustration among people. The National Conference government of Dr Farooq Abdullah should take immediate steps to meet the aspirations of the people of all three regions. The former Prime Minister said the “step-motherly” treatment towards various regions was being meted out not only by the state government, but also by the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre Various development schemes, including extension of the rail line from here to Udhampur for which the third-front government headed by him had sanctioned Rs 1300 crore in 1996, were now starved of funds. He said while working out the autonomy issue, “we” have to be liberal. Mr Deve Gowda said the manner in which the first phase of the Assembly election was conducted yesterday in the state has succeeded in removing the doubt of the international community whether the polling would be free and fair or a farce. While lauding the election commission for the poll yesterday, he said some minor complaints about the electoral rolls could have been there, but people at some lower level would have been responsible for these. Pakistan should realise that the people were fed up of terrorism and other problems being created here by it as without any fear of terrorist threats the electorate turned out in large numbers to cast their votes. Mr Deve Gowda said the turnout of electorate in the current elections and the last one in 1996 should not be compared as the earlier elections were held under the President’s rule which was imposed for about eight years and the people were fed up of it. The elections now were being held as per schedule. He said the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, who was a part and parcel of the NDA Government at the Centre had himself said that the performance of the Centre was not up to his expectations. He refused to reply to any questions on the controversy pertaining to the nationality of Mrs Sonia Gandhi although, he recalled, that the Congress partly led by her had betrayed and stabbed at my back” by dislodging his government in 1997, he added.