A day before polling in the final phase of Parliament elections in Baramulla and ladakh constituencies of Jammu & Kashmir, security has been beefed up following a bomb blast in a school building in north Kashmir. Around 400 youngsters and separatist workers have been taken into custody to neutralise poll-boycott campaign launched by the secessionist groups.
Sources said that unidentified persons hurled a petrol bomb at a school building in Watergam village of north Kashmir’s Rafiabad pocket spreading panic in the area. Police said the blast caused minor damage to the building. The school was not designated as polling booth in the village.The Anantnag and Srinagar constituencies in Kashmir went to polls on April 24 and 30, recording lowest poll percentage of 27 and 26 per cent respectively. The Baramulla and ladakh constituencies have the tradition of recording higher voter turnout.
Two hundred and fifty companies of Central Reserve Police Force and 15 battalions of Indian Reserve Police and Jammu & Kashmir Armed Police have been deployed in north Kashmir in addition to regular constabulary deployed in the districts of Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara.Around 1.19 million voters have been registered to exercise their franchise in the Baramulla constituency where 1,018 polling booths have been designated as sensitive and 498 as hypersensitive out of a total of 1,612 polling stations. Sources said that 81 polling stations have been relocated in the wake of threat perception.
Even as 15 candidates are in the fray in Baramulla, the main contest is between ruling National Conference candidate Sharifuddin Shariq, seeking re-election, and Opposition PDP’s Muzarraf Hussain Beigh. Two other candidates-Salamuddin Bajad and Sheikh Rashid-belong to People’s Conference and Awami Ittehad Party are also likely to poll a reasonable share of votes.
Meanwhile, arrangements have been finalised in ladakh, which is the most expansive constituency with the lowest electorate in the State. Around 85, 000 voters have been registered in the twin districts of Kargil and leh to decide the fate of the four candidates. in the fray.
Sources said that the main contest in ladakh is between BJP’s Thupstan Chewang and Congress candidate Tsering Samphel. The Congress is plagued with in-fighting in the region as Kargil unit of the party is backing Ghulam Raza, an independent who jumped into the fray after the party refused mandate to his mentor Asghar Karbalae who is currently Chief Executive Councilor of ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
The Congress is also fighting the battle alone without the support of its alliance partner NC. The NC has reportedly fielded its proxy candidate in Aga Syed Kazim Sabri. But the entire leadership of the party is not backing Sabri. The ladakh constituency is likely to throw a surprising verdict on May 16.