SRINAGAR: Only 2 percent voting took place in repolling for the byelection to the Srinagar Lok Sabha in central Kashmir on Thursday. This was the lowest voter turnout recorded in the history of Jammu & Kashmir.
Jammu & Kashmir’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Shantmanu told New Indian Express that out of the 35169 voters entitled to cast their votes, only 709 did so in the 38 polling booths, all in Budgam district.
Shantmanu said that in some polling booths, not even the candidates’ agents were present. “They showed up and left. This thing was brought to the notice of the political parties also," he said.
Held under unprecedented security measures, polling was peaceful bar minor stone pelting incidents after withdrawal of forces areas in the evening. The vote was boycotted by the separatists.
Shantmanu said the vote was an all-time low but it was "absolutely incident-free and no untoward incident took place".
Repolling had to be held in 38 polling stations after voting in the April 9 by-election was marred by violence in which eight people were killed and rampaging mobs took to the streets at scores of places across the constituency which straddles Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts.
The mobs set ablaze a polling station and attempting to burn two others. Only 7.14 per cent was voting recorded.
Subsequently, the Election Commission ordered repolling in 38 stations and postponed the bypoll to the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat from April 12 to May 25.
CEO Shantmanu said that due to the lower voter turnout for the repolling on Thursday, the overall polling percentage for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat had to be revised to 7.13 per cent from 7.14 per cent.
The authorities had made unprecedented security arrangements for the re-polling in Budgam. Some 64 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force were deployed, in addition to police and army personnel.
Seven candidates are in the fray for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat but the contest is mainly between the National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah and the PDP’s Nazir Ahmad Khan.
Counting will be held on April 15.
Shantmanu refrained from speculating on the prospects for the postponed bypolls in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency. He told a TV channel, "We will examine the (security) situation at that point of time but I don't think this much of deployment will be needed."
(With agency inputs)