J&K polls: Record voting in troubled, remote regions

SOPORE/BARAMULLAH: For years, Sopore was the most prominent example of stubborn defiance to Indian elections in Kashmir. Being the hometown of the valley’s most influential hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Voting here was seen as an act of sacrilege and mass boycott largely the norm.

With unprecedented number of voters coming out to vote during earlier phases of the ongoing assembly elections, several key bastions of anti-India separatism appear to be gradually changing their view about participating in state elections.

On Tuesday, as the valley’s voters woke up to a chilly morning and lined up outside booths much before polling began for the tensest phase yet of the five phase elections, predictable tensions erupted in Baramullah, the district with the most number of seats going to polls.

As has been the practice for years, large parts of the towns of Baramullah and Sopore were shut down with intermittent spells of stone pelting in several areas. Even Palhallan, a part of the nearby Pattan constituency, saw similar scenes play out through the day. A petrol bomb attack reported in Gulmarg, part of the same district, also seemed to suggest that the militant hotbeds will follow a familiar script on polling in these areas. But beyond these islands of chaos, quietly a section of resolute Kashmiris was voting.

Resident of Takyabal locality in Sopore, Noor Mohammad said he never voted before but came with his family this time. “We respect Geelani saab and agree with his stand on Aazadi. But this time one of our own is contesting and, not voting hasn’t helped us in any way, at least getting a neighbour elected may help. My house was damaged during floods and all I got was Rs 3,800, I am sure Irshad Kar will help us,” he said.