In the forested areas deep into South Kashmir where the dread of militants and boycott calls by the powerful Jamaat-e-Islami kept voters away for almost three decades, this Assembly election is witnessing a complete turnaround. The overall voter turnout for 24 Assembly constituencies in the first phase of polling till 7:30 pm on Wednesday stood at 58.85 per cent.

Polling was held across 3,276 polling stations spanning seven districts including Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Kishtwar, Anantnag, Ramban and Doda.

In each of the seven districts where voting was held today, the voting participation exceeded the participation during the Lok Sabha 2024 elections.

“The performance builds on the trend witnessed during the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir which saw a voter turnout of 58.58 per cent at polling stations, highest in the last 35 years,” said a buoyant Election Commission.

What was especially heartening was the trend seen in South Kashmir districts including Pulwama which had polled 46.03 per cent voting till trends last came in, Shopian where the poll percentage was 53.64 per cent, Anantnag which polled 54.17 per cent and Kulgam, the bastion of the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami once known for boycott calls of the elections, where the polling percentage was 61.57 per cent.

Nucleus of militancy

These districts have been the nucleus of militant activities after the Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani reanimated the new-age militancy. Militants like Sadam Paddar and Bilal Molvi, who were killed in a encounters with security forces in May 2018, belonged to villages in the Shopian district. The militant scare was primarily responsible for people staying away from the elections.

Besides, the Jamaat-e-Islami, a religio-political organisation which has strong roots in the region, used to give boycott calls which people followed either due to allegiance with the Jamaat or fear of being attacked by militants who followed the Jamaat ideaology.

The area is now free from the clutches of militancy and the priorities for local residents include youth employment and peace. 

A tour of these districts during voting on Wednesday showed that since morning, voters had started to queue up for polling. There was heavy security presence all across but the voting was largely peaceful.

At a government school in Heff Shirmal village, Shopian district, some 68 kilometres south of Srinagar, women had queued up to vote in large numbers. The village, historically influenced by a strong presence of Jamaat-e-Islami, had distanced itself from the electoral process for the last three decades. According to local residents, in the previous Assembly elections, the village witnessed more or less no voting.

However, this time by 12:30 pm, of the total 1,800 registered voters, more than 500 had already cast their vote. 

“It is for the first time that we are casting votes,” said Salma, a young woman who had collected with her friends at the polling booth. Although disinclined to disclose the reason for turning up at the polling stations this time, a palpable sense of enthusiasm was evident on their faces.

The village is part of the Zainapora Assembly constituency, which recorded a voter turnout of 52. 64 per cent by 5 pm. The constituency went to polls along with 23 other Assembly segments in Jammu and Kashmir in the first leg of polling. 

Free from boycott calls

Abdul Rashid, a retired policeman, sporting a chest long beard, said that boycott politics did not fetch them anything. “There is a wider realisation among the people that boycotting elections was not a good idea. We have many issues that could be resolved only once we have our own representative government,” he said. 

Bhat and many others from the village said that youth unemployment was a crucial issue before them. In neighboring Awneera village, another known Jamaat bastion, the scenes were similar. The foot traffic at a local polling station was higher than expected, suggesting a good voter turnout.

The Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir is happening after a good ten years.  For the first time in years, these elections are free from boycott calls by militants and separatist leaders.  Moreover, the participation of the Jamaat for the first time since 1987 has added a new dimension to the elections.

Related Topics