PULWAMA: The thunder of grenades lobbed by terrorists and the clatter of stones pelted by rioting youth kept streets and roads leading to polling booths in
Pulwama deserted on the last day of the
Lok Sabha elections
in the Kashmir valley. The fear of terrorists in Kashmir, and the anger against the BJP government in New Delhi, resulted in just around 0.8% polling on Monday.
It was the first time in Kashmir's electoral history that polls to the Anantnag parliamentary constituency (comprising Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts) were held in three phases due to serious security concerns.
On February 14 this year, 44
CRPF jawans were killed in a suicide bombing by
Jaish-e-Muhammed
in Pulwama, which led to India launching airstrikes against terror camps in
Balakot
, Pakistan. The Pulwama attack and the government's retaliation became a major poll issue throughout the country.
On Monday, the polling was held in Pulwama and Shopian, both militancy-infested districts and highly volatile since the killing of
Hizbul Mujahideen
commander Burhan Wani in 2016. The two districts registered a turnout of only 2.8% combined, officials said.
However, the cumulative turnout is about 9%, with around 13% polled in Anantnag district in the first phase and around 10% in Kulgam district in the second phase.
The parliamentary constituency of Anantnag used to be seen as the bastion of PDP since the 2002 assembly polls. A stronghold of Jamaate-Islami, represented by PDP chief
Mehbooba Mufti in the 2014 LS until she resigned to become the CM in 2016, the constituency has remained vacant. In 2014, Mehbooba had won the LS seat by defeating National Conference candidate Mehboob Beg by more than 65,000 votes.
In 2019, the seat is home to a triangular contest between Mehbooba Mufti, NC's candidate Justice Hasnain Masoodi (retd) and state Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir.
On Monday, police sources said, militants in Pulwama district hurled grenades at polling stations, and rioters lobbed stones at security forces in their attempt to shut down even the minimal voting witnessed at some places. The police fired pellet guns to disperse violent mobs, injuring a couple of youth.