Early Times Report
Jammu, June 9: Minority Cell of National Conference that has a couple of high profile Kashmiri Pandit leaders on board is in super active mode these days, all to please their 'bosses' in the high command. Even as National Conference got lowest of all the political parties votes of Kashmiri Pandits in Anantnag Assembly constituency in 2014 Assembly elections, the party has started wooing the voters for forthcoming bypoll to this seat scheduled on June 22.
Sources said despite being in power at that time, NC could not secure more than 150 odd votes in favour of its candidate out of around 1200 KP migrant votes polled for this prestigious constituency. Though the constituency has around 4,500 votes of Kashmiri Pandits, very less votes were polled on account of various reasons, sources said adding that the interesting pattern in the votes polled during 2014 remained that NC and Congress who were allies in the government garnered less votes than PDP in opposition. Even as the total number of KP votes polled could not be of help to any party, not even the winning candidate, (the margin of overall votes in terms of %age being far high), yet KP voters are most sought after by all the parties at least on this constituency each time the elections are held.
Highest number of KP votes were polled in favour of BJP candidate, a lesser known leader among the community, yet the tag of BJP drew him around 300 votes , sources said. However, it was PDP leadership that worked hard in reaching out to migrant voters scattered and spread in camps and outside the camp localities in Jammu and managed over a sizable number of votes in its favour both in the Assembly polls and prior to that in the Lok Sabha polls. One major factor that went in favour of PDP was the stalwart in the candidate late, Mufti Mohamamd Syed who contested on this seat in 2014, he being popular among the voters of this constituency as also the fact that he was the best, rather only choice for the voters.
In the wake of these facts, though it looks unlikely that NC would increase in its tally of votes that would be polled in the constituency by the KP community, the NC minority leaders led by Vijay Bakaya, Anil Dhar and others are canvassing hard in camps and non camps to convince the voters to be by the side of NC. They have been visiting various camps and non camp KP inhabited areas and asking them to ensure ;massive win' for the party candidate.
Ironically, while these leaders are busy wooing KP voters, no matter just to impress the high command about their 'good ground work', patron of the Party Farooq Abdullah has been expressing an unfounded apprehension on illogical ground that bypoll to this constituency would be rigged. This is nothing but fears of losing once again on this constituency where Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is all set to register impressive win. |
