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Sunday,
September 22, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Last-minute
bid to woo voters No
alliance with Cong: PDP J&K
poll: Gandhinagar Minister on sticky wicket
Campaigning
gains momentum |
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‘Voters
have humbled Pak’ Farooq
asked to apologise NC
favours safe return of Pandits 5 jawans
hurt in Pak firing BJP:
statehood for Jammu not unconstitutional
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Last-minute bid to woo voters Jammu, September 21 Restoration of peace is the common slogan among the main contesting candidates in both Jammu and Srinagar districts. In Jammu, however, trifurcation and end of regional discrimination outclass other issues. In the
Srinagar-Budgan belt, restoration of greater autonomy and development raised by the NC seem to have been overshadowed by its misrule aggravating the level of unemployment and people’s problems which are being projected by its opponents. While the NC and the PDP have banked on Dr Abdullah and his son, Mr Omar Abdullah, and Mufti Mohammad Sayed and his daughter, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, respectively, to woo voters, the Congress and the BJP have brought all those who matter in the organisations, including the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Dr Manmohan Singh, former Union Finance Minister, and others, secretaries and film stars for mustering voters’ support. Mr Kanshi Ram was seen fighting a lone battle for his party which has pockets of influence in the Jammu region. Except for some heavyweight Independent candidates in the field, besides the entry of the PDP and the RSS-led State Morcha in the fray, it is going to be a multi-cornered contest in 27 of the 28 seats. In Khenyar it is going to be a triangular contest. In these 28 constituencies there are 262 candidates in the fray, with Jammu West and Jammu East on the top having 17 candidates each, followed by
Bishna, Suchetgarh and Rabbakadal with 16, 15 and 11 candidates, respectively, in the fray. There are over 23 lakh voters in these 28 constituencies. The importance of the poll in these constituencies lies in the fact that nine ministerial colleagues of Dr Farooq Abdullah, besides his son, Mr Omar Abdullah, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, are in the fray. Dr Abdullah’s ministerial colleagues in the fray in Srinagar, Jammu and Budgam districts are Mian
Altaf, Abdul Rahim Rather, Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mr Harbans Singh, Mr Ajit Singh
Shatru, Mr S.S. Slathia, Mr Ajay Sadhotra and Mr Govind Ram. In the constituencies of Mr S.S. Slathia
(Vijaypur) and Mr Ajay Sadhotra (Marh) Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mr Omar Abdullah attracted large crowds to their pre-poll rallies. Poll analysts attach two more factors that make the phase II polling crucial for the NC, the Congress, the PDP, the BJP and the State Morcha. The poll results will determine which party will emerge as the largest single party in the Assembly. Secondly, the percentage of polling will upset those who were working for ensuring voters’ boycott. Even if the 15 Assembly constituencies in Srinagar and Budgam register between 15 and 25 per cent polling it may be India’s day in Kashmir. In 1996 13 constituencies in Jammu district had registered 60.23 per cent polling, followed by 65.96 in Buigam district and 25.06 per cent in Srinagar district. The NC had polled 71.76 per cent in Srinagar district, the Congress 8.94 per cent, the Janata Dal 8.60 per cent and the BJP 2.24 per cent of the total votes polled. In Budgam the NC was on top with 46.25 per cent, followed by the Congress (26.29) per cent, the Janata DAL (20.29) per cent and the BJP (0.83) per cent. In Jammu district the NC had polled 19.23 per cent, the Congress 19.31 per cent, the BJP 24.87 per cent, the Janata Dal 7.94 per cent and the BSP 7.45 per cent. Indications are that since the Janata Dal stands emaciated in the Kashmir valley those who had supported it in 1996 may get divided among the Congress, the NC and the PDP. With 24.87 per cent of the total votes polled in Jammu district in 1996, the BJP had won eight seats. This time the pro-Sangh Parivar votes are likely to get divided between the RSS-backed State Morcha and the BJP as the former has fielded nine candidates in constituencies considered to be the BJP stronghold. The NC has placed all its eggs in the basket of its five ministers who are in the field in Jammu district. Besides, it has pinned hopes on sharp split in the anti-NC votes. Field reports indicate that the Congress may improve on its 1996 performance when it had bagged seven seats, two from the valley and five from the Jammu region. But if the demand for statehood status for Jammu weighs heavy with the voters, the BJP-State Morcha combine may be in a position to do better than what it did in 1996. |
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No alliance with Cong: PDP Srinagar, September 21 “I do not want to dilute the regional character of the party by entering into an alliance with any national party, PDP President Mufti Mohammad Sayeed told reporters, denying reports that his party had a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress. He said the PDP “did not put up candidates in those Assembly segments where the candidates of other Opposition parties were stronger. This move has been taken with a view to ousting the NC from power”. Mr Sayeed said the good voter turnout in the first phase of the Assembly elections was an indication that “people will give a decisive verdict for peace and stability” against “instability and misrule” of the National Conference, he said, ruling out a hung Assembly. Describing the NC as a stumbling-block to peace in Jammu and Kashmir, he alleged that whenever a serious move was initiated for resolving the long-standing issue the party sabotaged it. Mr Sayeed complimented the Election Commission for holding free and fair poll in the first phase and hoped that polling in the other three phases would also be free and fair. He also hoped that the turnout in the other phases would be good. However, holding a free and fair poll in
Ganderbal, from where NC’s chief ministerial candidate Omar Abdullah is contesting for the first time, would be an acid test for the EC, Mr Sayeed said. Asked about the PDP’s chief ministerial candidate, he said the party had a galaxy of leaders, including Supreme Court lawyer Muzaffar Hussain
Beig, Ghulam Hassan Mir and Mehbooba Mufti. To a question why he did not contest, Mr Sayeed said it was a party decision not to field him so that he could campaign throughout the state instead of being restricted to one segment.
PTI |
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J&K poll: Gandhinagar
Minister on sticky wicket Jammu, September 21 Mr Harbans Singh lost the last election from this constituency in 1996 but was nominated a member of the Upper House and made minister. Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, campaigned for him today and made several promises to the electorate, but the mood of the people even in the Sikh-dominated areas of Chatha, Simbal Camp and Nanak Nagar appeared so far generally not in his favour. It was expected that hectic campaigning by the Chief Minister might bring some advantage for him. A fruit seller and tea stall owner near Chatha remarked that Mr Harbans Singh was mostly inaccessible and Mr Bhalla came to their rescue whenever needed. The constituency has voters of various communities, which are further divided according to their origin. The Muzaffarabadi Sikhs are sore that Dr Abdullah has nominated Mr Harbans Singh and Ms Surinder Kaur, both from Poonch, as members of the Legislative Council. No representation has been given to the Muzaffarabadi Sikhs, they allege. With two days left for polling for the 13 seats of the Jammu district, Mr Bhalla appears to have an edge so far, among the 14 candidates in fray in Gandhinagar. The constituency has been the stronghold of the Congress and it was only in the Assembly election in 1987 that an independent, candidate Mr H.S. Bali, won. Thereafter, the seat was won by the BJP in 1996 when the party’s candidate Mr Piara Singh, won. In a tactical move, Dr Abdullah recently got Mr Piara Singh defect to the National Conference probably hoping perhaps that he would transfer his vote bank to Mr Harbans Singh. However, most of the BJP activists, who had supported Mr Piara Singh in the last election, now were backing Mr Onkar Seth of the Jammu State Morcha (JSM). They also are campaigning
halfheartedly for Mr Charanjit Singh, an Akali activist, fielded on the BJP symbol. Mr Parkash Singh Badal had sought ticket for an Akali candidate in these elections for the Bishnah constituency, but as the seat had been allotted to the JSM by the BJP, Mr Charanjit Singh was given ticket for the Gandhinagar constituency. Common people speak highly of Mr Bhalla, who they say was always ready to come to their help, whereas Mr Harbans Singh and Mr Piara Singh were not accessible easily. The visit of Mrs Sonia Gandhi yesterday here has also helped to make atmosphere favourable for the Congress as common people complain that they were fed up of corruption and nepotism rampant in the present regime. They want peace, development and a government responsive to the problems of poor people. The JSM candidate, Mr Onkar Seth, also has made some impact in certain areas as the outfit was demanding separation of Jammu. The fight in the Jammu (west) constituency is between mainly Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, a Congress leader and Mr Virender Gupta of the JSM, although the sitting MLA Mr Hans Raj Dogra of the BJP, has been contesting as a rebel along with 14 other candidates. The Kashmiri Pandits in the areas around the canal are likely to play decisive role in this constituency. Mr Mangat Ram Sharma represented the constituency in 1987 and thereafter was member of the Lok Sabha from the same area. However, it is tight-rope walk for him because the JSM has touched the emotional issue of statehood for Jammu. Moreover, Mr Gupta is banking on the Mirpuri who are in Rehari, Sarwal and new plot segments. Mr Dogra was annoyed as they left the seat for the JSM and has not fielded its own candidate. The NC has fielded Mr Chander Mohan Sharma. The Shiv Sena, which has fielded Mr Chanan Sharma (Jammu west) and Mr Sanjay Kumar Mahey (Jammu east) has urged the Kashmiri Pandits to support them as it was only under the BJP-Shiv Sena rule that seats in professional colleges of Maharashtra were reserved for the Kashmiri migrants. They stress that now it was moral duty of the Pandits to support the Shiv Sena candidates. The situation is confusing in the Jammu (east) where the contest is between the sitting MLA of the BJP, Mr Ashok Khajuria, Mr Yogesh Sawhney of the Congress, who is also president of the state Youth Congress and Mr Tilak Raj Sharma of the JSM. The ruling NC candidate, Mrs Bimla Luthra, has hardly made any impact so far. Thirteen others are also in the fray. The contest has become interesting as the BJP and the JSM, in alliance, have fielded their candidates against each other. |
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Campaigning
gains momentum Srinagar, September 21 Three ministers are in the fray in Anantnag and Pulwama districts. They are Forest Minister Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Shah, contesting from his home constituency of Devsar, Minister of State for Tourism Sakina Ittoo from Noorabad and Minister of State for Food and Supplies Bashir Ahmad Nengroo from his home constituency of Pulwama. He had been elected from Pulwama in 1987 and 1996. There are 106 candidates contesting 16 constituencies in Anantnag and Pulwama, of whom 68 candidates are contesting 10 seats of Anantnag district and 38 for the six constituencies of Pulwama. The electorate of strength in Anantnag is 5,60,650. As many as 598 polling stations have been set up throughout the district. Of these 270 have been declared hypersensitive and the rest sensitive. These include the auxiliary polling stations approved by the Election Commission for Chhattisinghpora and other places. Electronic voting machines will be used for the first time in this district. As many as 1.05 lakh identity cards have been issued in this district. The prestigious Anantnag constituency elected a former Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Shamsuddin, consecutively in 1957, 1962, 1967 and 1972, twice as a National Conference nominee and twice as a Congress candidate. In 1977, Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beigh triumphed from this constituency following by his son Mirza Mehboob Beigh in 1983 as NC candidate. Dr Mehboob Beigh, who unsuccessfully contested the seat lost to Safdar Ali Beigh of the NC in 1996. This time again, Dr Mehboob Beigh is contesting as a candidate of the PDP of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Mohammad Sayeed Shah of the Muslim United Front won from this seat in 1987. The total number of voters increased from 55,861 in 1996 to 68783 in 2002. Five candidates are in the fray this time — Dr Mehboob Beigh (NC), Liyaqat Ali Khan (Awami League), Vikram Kumar (BJP), Ghulam Nabi Shah (RJD) and Ghulam Rasool Bhat
(Ind). |
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‘Voters
have humbled Pak’ Jammu, September 21 “The people of the state have given a befitting reply to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf... his nefarious designs will be defeated and terrorism will be rooted out of the state,” he said, addressing a string of election meetings here. The voters had proved to the international community that these elections were free and fair, he said. “In India, peoples’ wishes are respected... their elected people form the government unlike our neighbour where people are saddled with a military dictatorship after conducting a referendum,” he said. Holding the National Conference and the Congress responsible for the prevailing conditions in the insurgency-hit state, Mr Sinha said both had made promises before the elections but never delivered. He accused the NC and the Congress of running “terrorism shops”. “The leaders of both parties talk of rooting out terrorism but they don’t work towards its elimination... rather they favour it.” Regarding the demand for separate statehood for Jammu, he said the region had been discriminated against and the BJP was in favour of setting up a regional statutory council to address the issue.
UNI |
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Farooq asked to apologise Jammu, September 21 In a press statement, Panther’s Party president, Bhim Singh condemned the “insulting and shameful remarks against the Dogra Hero Maharaja Hari Singh’’ by the NC leaders at a public meeting at Samba on Thursday night. According to reports, a group of people had turned violent during an election rally addressed by Mr Omar Abdullah at Samba. The protesters also blocked the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway for sometime after the NC President had reportedly said the NC had given land to the tillers and removed erstwhile Maharajas.
UNI |
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NC favours safe return of Pandits Jammu, September 21 It said the migration of Kashmiri Pandits was planned under a conspiracy by some hardliners, whom the party did not identify. “Everyone is busy talking about the migrants and their plight. Nobody is concerned about the circumstances that forced this migration from the valley,” senior NC leader Ghulam Nabi Mir Lasjan told reporters here. Mr Lasjan, contesting the Assembly elections from Amirakadal, said the issue “needs to be looked into as the migration was part of a conspiracy hatched by some hardliners.” Shamina Firdaus, party candidate from Habbakadal, said the National Conference was concerned that Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs had been made soft targets of the militants. “Some people in Kashmir demand freedom while some have given a boycott call and there are others who want to vote,” Mr Lasjan said, adding that “the Pandits have to play a vital role in the historic elections.” He alleged that there were some anomalies in the voter list which might affect the voting percentage in the next phases of the Assembly poll.
PTI |
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5 jawans hurt in Pak firing Jammu, September 21 They said Pakistani troops resorted to heavy firing in the Jhanghar area of the Naushera sector forcing Indian troops to retaliate and the exchange of fire between the two sides lasted a few hours. One of the injured jawans was later airlifted to Army hospital at Udhampur, while others were removed to nearby hospital. The casualty on the Pakistan side could not be ascertained, the sources said. Meanwhile exchange of small arms firing between two sides also took place at 10 places along International Border in Jammu and Kathua districts in last 24 hours without any damage or loss on the Indian side, they said.
PTI |
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BJP: statehood for Jammu not unconstitutional Jammu, September 21 Mr Ahluwalia, while talking to mediapersons here, said the demand was being raised as the Jammu region was always being discriminated against by the successive state governments. He said the aspirations of the people could be met by setting up a regional development board which could take care of a balanced development of all three regions of the state. |
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In video: Naiwala refugees
hope people's representatives thrown up by the state's ongoing elections
will address their problems.
