news details |
|
|
| Legislative Assembly Speaker makes 'mockery' of elections by visiting polling booths at will | | Coerces people to vote for Dr Farooq Abdullah | | Srinagar
responds to
boycott
call with
11.46%
voter
turn-out
Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, Apr 30: As the elections for Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha seat were held today, Speaker Legislative Assembly, Mubarak Gul made rounds at no less than three polling stations in the Srinagar city in order to woo the voters towards National Conference.
Sources told Early Times that Mubarak Gul who represents Eidgah constituency in the Legislative Assembly started his 'journey' for the polling stations early in the morning and concluded it afternoon. He sat at the polling stations for hours together and as such violated the procedures laid down under the Model Code of Conduct.
"The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly first visited the Syed Hamidpora polling station in the Nawab Bazar area at about 8:30 AM. He went around the polling station and interacted with the polling staff posted there. Thereafter he sat on the chair and issued directions to the people who visited the polling station to cast their votes in favour of National Conference-Congress coalition candidate, Dr. Farooq Abdullah," said the sources.
Sources said that MLA Eidgah was accompanied by a strong team of around 30 persons and he and his team outnumbered the polling staff as well as security forces personnel posted at these polling stations. Gul could be seen issuing directions to his men that people should only cast votes for Dr. Abdullah.
"After leaving the Syed Hamidpora polling station MLA Eidgah visited the polling station at Gurgadi Mohalla in Zaina Kadal area and spend more than an hour at this polling station as well. Here too he passed on the directions that nobody should vote against NC-Congress coalition candidate since he has made commitment regarding the same with Dr. Abdullah," said sources.
Sources said that after this Gul visited the polling station set up at the Government College for Women, Nawa Kadal. It was only after four hours that he concluded his visit to the polling stations. He left for his official residence at about 12:30 PM and thus trampled the model code of conduct with impunity.
Meanwhile, Early Times has learnt that cross voting took place in majority of the polling stations in the Eidgah constituency. Workers and activists of National Conference voted for People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Tariq Hamid Karra at polling stations of Ganderpora, Chai Dub and Noor Bagh much to the dismay of party leaders especially the sitting legislator.
However, the Congress workers and activists at these polling stations voted for the coalition candidate. The overall voting percentage for the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha seat stood at 26 percent.
At the same time quite expectedly the voter turn-out in majority of the constituencies in the Srinagar remained abysmally low with very few people coming out to cast their votes for the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha seat. The voter turn-out remained in single digits in constituencies like Zadibal, Habba Kadal and Amira Kadal. It was comparatively better in constituencies like Khanyar, Eidgah, Sonwar, Batmaloo and Hazratbal constituencies.
Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir Umang Narula said that Habba Kadal recorded 4.3 percent, Zadibal 5.59 percent, Amira Kadal 7.73 percent, Khanyar 10.22 percent, Eidgah 10.85 percent, Batamaloo 12.98 percent, Sonwar 17.14 percent and Hazratbal 17.92 percent voting respectively. He said the overall voting percentage in the Srinagar district was 11.46 percent.
The Chief Electoral Officer said that Budgam district recorded an overall voting percentage of 40. He said Khan Sahab recorded 28.83 percent polling, Beerwah 32.64 percent, Chadoora 35.38 percent, Budgam 38.67 and Charar-e-Sharief recorded 65 percent polling. He added that the Ganderbal district had an overall voting percentage of 45.50 percent with Ganderbal segment recording 30.5 percent and Kangan recording 60.5 percent polling respectively.
During the course of the day clashes broke out between supporters of anti-poll campaign and police as well as Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel at different places in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. In the Srinagar district clashes broke out in the Jamia Masjid and Soura areas.
In the Soura area a group of people attacked the polling booth set up at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School. A youth leader of People’s Democratic Party suffered injuries in the incident. The agitated youth later bolted the polling booth and asked the staff to leave the venue immediately.
In the Ganderbal district protests broke out in the Barsoo and Saloora areas with people raising protest against the election process. Police and CRPF launched action by using teargas canisters against the protesters in order to disperse them. Some protests were also reported from the Kangan area of this district in Central Kashmir. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
