Amid tight security and spree of nocturnal raids and arrests of suspected stone-throwers and separatists, the high-profile Srinagar constituency will be going to polls on Wednesday. The authorities have decreased polling duration by an hour even as the polling staff and security personnel have been deployed in advance.
The separatist groups, including three factions of Hurriyat Conference, have called for poll boycott and daylong shutdown in the Valley. Most of the separatist leaders have been taken into custody or detained inside their homes.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah is fighting the toughest battle of his life in this constituency spread over capital Srinagar and its adjacent Ganderbal and Budgam districts comprising 15 Assembly segments.
Abdullah’s main contest is with People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Tariq Hameed Qarra even as a dozen other candidates including Aam Aadmi Party’s Raja Muzaffar, Awami Ittihad’s Rashid Rahil and BJP’s Fayaz Ahmad Bhat are also in the fray.
More than 12 lakh voters have been registered in the constituency, which has a history of low poll percentage. Observers say that the voter turnout may be low in Srinagar while it is likely to be higher in Budgam and Ganderbal districts.
The ruling National Conference has retained the seat directly or indirectly since 1971 except for a two-year term of a Congress MP who cruised through in 1996 when the NC boycotted the polls.
The Opposition PDP says that the NC holds sway in Srinagar city due to rigging in polls and the city dwellers’ general indifference to the elections.