Jammu voters defeat terror fears in polls, with help from security forces

The first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in a decade concluded successfully, and peacefully, on Tuesday

The sudden spurt in terror attacks in Jammu division after the Lok Sabha elections this summer failed to deter both local residents as well as candidates from various political parties from participating in the democratic exercise, thanks primarily to the heavy deployment and alertness of security forces in the region.

BJP supporters hold party flags outside a counting centre in Jammu on Tuesday. (AP)

The first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in a decade concluded successfully, and peacefully, on Tuesday, with the National Conference-Congress alliance securing a comfortable win over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other parties. The three-phased elections saw people coming out in big numbers to exercise their franchise in the Union territory, keeping with the trend set during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. Various candidates also campaigned without any fear.

“We went full throttle and kept terrorists on the run. While elections were on, we were having gun-fights with the terrorists in the upper reaches of Kishtwar and Doda districts,” a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity. “We had aggressively launched seek and destroy operations.”

Various districts in Jammu division, including Rajouri, Poonch — both south of Pir Panjal range — Udhampur, Reasi, Doda and Kathua, have witnessed terror attacks since the Lok Sabha elections that concluded on June 4.

One of the major attacks came soon after the polls on June 9, when armed terrorists attacked a bus carrying pilgrims near Shiv Khori shrine in Reasi, killing nine pilgrims and leaving 42 others injured.

On September 9, just nine days before the first-phase polling for the assembly elections, security forces foiled an infiltration bid and gunned down two Pakistani terrorists along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri.

Increased security deployment ahead of the assembly polls, however, seems to have enthused voters to turnout in big numbers across the Union territory.

According to the Election Commission’s figures, the 43 assembly constituencies of the Jammu region recorded a turnout of 73.2% while the 47 seats of the Kashmir region recorded a turnout of 55.5%. The two regions had recorded a turnout of 75.9% and 56.5%, respectively, in 2014, when the last assembly elections were held in the erstwhile state of J&K.

Of the 90 assembly seats in J&K, the highest turnout was recorded in Inderwal (82.16%) in Kishtwar district, followed by Marh (81.47%) in Jammu district, and Padder-Nagseni (80.67%) in Kishtwar. All three seats are in the Jammu region, which had emerged as the hotbed for terror activities in the past few months.