Partly because of disinterest of bigwigs of Kashmir politics and mostly because of the ongoing month of Ramzan, the electioneering in southern Anantnag has so far been confined to posters and buntings.
It is, however, expected to pick up soon as many top leaders of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party and Opposition National Conference and Congress are slated to visit the Assembly at the last leg of campaigning to seek votes for their respective party candidates.
The seat had fallen vacant after the death of PDP patron and then chief minister, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, on January 7.
The voting, which was scheduled to take place on June 19, will now be held on June 22 as June 19 is the death anniversary of Qazi Nisar Ahmed bin Muhammad, a religio-political leader of south Kashmir who was killed by unidentified gunmen in 1994.
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti is among the eight candidates who are in the fray. PDP is seeking votes for chief minister Mufti to “ensure the dreams of Mufti Sahib for Anantnag are fulfilled”.
The Opposition, however, terms it a hollow promise and insists that the chief minister and the PDP-BJP government have already failed to deliver on various fronts of governance.
On Thursday, slain cleric-politician Qazi Nisar’s son and successor Qazi Yasir was arrested by the police during a press conference at his residence in the town’s Qazi Mohalla.
Mr Yasir termed the by-poll as a “sham election” being held and contested by “puppets of India” and asked people to boycott it. His supporters, outraged at the police action, quickly took to the streets chanting “Down with India” and “We want freedom”.
The police and district authorities have meanwhile ensured none of the key separatist politicians entered Anantnag to spread their poll boycott appeal. However, the separatist leaders have tried to reach out to the voters with their poll boycott call through vernacular newspapers and social media.
Meanwhile money and other small favours being extended to voters allegedly by the PDP are also going to influence the poll outcome. Many people here talk about voters in rural areas of the segment being paid Rs 1,000 each in advance to “buy” their votes.
Also Opposition has accused the government of supplying sugar at subsidized rates only to Anantnag consumers and denying it to the rest of the Valley in view the by-poll. On Tuesday night the police in Anantnag reportedly seized an Alto car carrying Rs 58 lakh in cash, allegedly meant for distribution among voters, leading to a ruckus by Opposition members in the Assembly.
