Twenty-seven per cent of migrants exercised their right to vote in the first phase of polling in 16 constituencies in four districts of Jammu and South Kashmir, while four polling stations in Delhi NCR recorded 40 per cent turnout and one polling station in Udhampur district recorded 31.39 per cent.
Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Dr Arvind Karwani detailed to Excelsior that in 19 polling booths in Jammu, the displaced Kashmiri Pandits voted at 27 per cent, while in one booth in Udhampur, the voter turnout was 31.39 per cent.
Delhi election coordinator Arvind Kumar said the turnout at four dedicated polling stations set up in Delhi and the National Capital Region today was 40.25%. He said out of 231 registered voters, 93 turned up to vote.
The authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the voters at all 19 polling booths in Jammu and one booth in Udhampur. Elaborate security arrangements have also been taken at the polling booths, with Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel being deployed besides Central Reserve Police Force personnel.
The Relief and Rehabilitation Organisation has deployed special staff to guide voters and conduct on-site registration of supplementary voters whose names are not registered in the voters’ list after verifying the documents.
Agents of political parties were asked to stay outside the polling stations to guide voters and their entry into the polling stations was strictly restricted. Although the number of outside voters was small, they came to their respective polling stations to vote from early in the morning. In order to ensure the smooth conduct of this vote, the authorities deployed staff at each polling station to fill in the voters who were not filled in the voter list.
Elderly migrant voters from the Valley, who had participated in several elections before the mass exodus from Kashmir, say they are eager to resume normalcy in their native Kashmir. “No government has made a sincere effort in this regard,” said Omkar Nath, an elderly migrant from Pulwamatlal. “Our plight has been completely ignored, with only claims that they have been given relief for the last 35 years,” he said, asking who is to blame for our mass exodus?
“Isn’t it the government’s duty to ensure our safety in Kashmir? We were forced to flee at gunpoint while the government sat back and did nothing,” said Nana Ji Raina, another migrant who voted at Barnai High School in Anuradhapuram.
Nana ji believes that the chances of returning home are slim due to lack of will by successive governments, but he said there is still hope in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has taken many unexpected decisions and we hope that he has the ability and will to solve our problems. Raina said Modi is the only hope for the community and we look forward to his initiatives in this regard during his third term.
While the elderly voters were particularly concerned about the rejuvenation of the Kashmiri community and assurances that they would not be evicted from their homes again, the younger generation, especially first-time voters, also supported the demands for rejuvenation of their home communities and demanded job opportunities for the youth in both the private and government sectors, besides restoration of their encroached lands.
Spirya Bhat, a student from Lokbhawan in Anantnag and a first-time voter, said the government should now fulfil its promise to rebuild the community in the Valley. “The community has faith and high hopes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he has the will and the ability to rehabilitate the displaced Pandits of Kashmir honourably and with dignity,” she added.
Another first-time voter, Shivi, shared the same view. She said, “We hope the government will meet our aspirations and create conditions for the decent and dignified revival of the Kashmiri community.”
Shivji Bhat, a 90-year-old migrant from Aushmuj Kulgam, came to the polling station at Accounting Services Training Institute in Muthi with his son to cast his vote. He said a vote can change the fate of any country. “For me, I want to vote for the party and candidate who will lead Jammu and Kashmir out of unrest and restore complete peace so as to rebuild my community in Kashmir.”
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