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Basharat Peer in Baramulla and Kupwara
The first phase polling in the north Kashmir districts of Baramulla and Kupwara was a mixed bag, with voters in some pockets exercising their franchise despite a boycott call issued by militants, and in some others refusing to vote to protest against the 'coercion' of the security forces.
In the People's Conference bastion of Handwara town, there was brisk polling and hordes of voters thronged the polling booths. "We are voting on our own. Nobody forced us. We were scared, but decided to vote. We wanted to bring some change," Abdul Majid said.
Till the last information available, Handwara constituency had polled 26 per cent votes.
In the militant-infested Kupwara town, few miles from Handwara, the voters made it clear that they were voting voluntarily.
"I wanted to vote for my favourite candidate, so I am here. I am not scared of anyone," said Hajra Bano (44).
But in the villages situated on the road between Handwara and Kupwara, voters, lining up in queues outside polling booths, complained of being 'forced' by the security forces out of their homes to vote.
At Nutnusu village in Kupwara constituency, around 200 villagers had queued up in front of a polling booth. But when this correspondent spoke to them, a majority were agitated and said they were being forced to vote by the security forces.
"Fauj asked me to vote. They will check for the polling mark [black indelible ink mark] on my finger, and if it is not there I will be beaten. So I am here," said Yousuf Khan.
His name, however, does not figure in any voting list. It cannot because Khan is a 14-year-old.
"I wanted to vote, but I wanted to vote in the afternoon. The security forces did not agree to that and asked me to leave my house immediately -- around 9.30 am -- to vote. I had to," said Ghulam Ahmad Khan, another villager.
But it was in the Ahamshareef locality of Bandipora township of Kupwara that the most serious allegations surfaced. The residents alleged that security forces personnel had molested Zubeida Akhtar, who had delivered a baby two weeks back, after she refused to vote. "When I protested against it they hit me on my face," said her brother Syed Shah, whose front teeth were broken.
But in the Langate constituency of Kupwara, it was a different story altogether. The polling booth looked like a carnival venue and people voted voluntarily. Many voters seemed to be minors, but the election staff did not object. Polling officials put the turnout at 30 per cent.
The nearby Rafiabad constituency of Baramulla had a modest turnout. It took some prompting from the security forces to make the indecisive voters, weighing the pros and cons of exercising the franchise, to throng the polling booths.
"Less than 50 votes were cast till 11.30 in the morning, then the army made an announcement asking the people to come out and vote. After that there has been a mad rush," said Jabbar Sheikh, the Congress polling agent at a Rafiabad polling booth.
But as you move into the Baramulla town the mood changes completely. It is here that the anti-election campaign was the strongest. The town was deserted, except for a motley group protesting against the security forces.
At around 3.00 pm at the 57 Bungalow Bagh polling booth in the town, out of 981 votes, no vote had been cast and in 58 Bungalow Bagh booth, out of 1109 votes, only one vote was cast.
Out of Baramulla town on the highway connecting it to Srinagar, Pattan constituency had a moderate turnout.
Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage
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