Lok Sabha elections 2019: Neck-and-neck fight in Anantnag LS seat

Saahil Suhail

Early Times Report

Anantnag, April 30: The Anantnag parliamentary constituency is heading for a neck and neck contest between the Congress, National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party as Devsar and Noorabad assembly segments both strongholds of Congress and National Conference respectively witnessed low voter turnout.

Peoples Democratic Party President and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Jammu Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Ghulam Ahmad Mir and NC’s Justice retired Hussnain Masoodi are pitted against each other in the parliamentary constituency.

The polling for Anantnag district comprising six assembly segments including Anantnag, Bijbehara, Pahalgam, Shangus, Kokernag and Dooru was held on April 23. In second leg, polling for four assembly segemnts-Kulgam, Devsar, HS Bugh and Noorabad-of Kulgam district was held on April 29. The overall voting of percentage of Anantnag district was 13.61 % according to EC while as voting percentage of Kulgam rose to just 10.32%. Polling for six assembly segments of Shopian and Pulwama districts of South Kashmir’s will be held on May 6 as polling for Anantnag LS seat is being held in three phases due to security reasons. Anantnag Parliamentary seat-Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama-remained epicenter of 2016 agitation that erupted after the killing of Hizb Commander Burhan Wani.

According to political analysts, the low voter turnout in Noorabad and Devsar assembly segment hasn’t only brought back PDP President Mehbooba Mufti into contest but has also made it a neck-and-neck fight between three political parties-National Conference, Congress and PDP.

“Congress performed better in Dooru, Shangus and Kokernag assembly segments while as National Conference got enough votes from Pahalgam besides performed better than PDP in Shangus and Kokernag” they said.

Anantnag, which PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti represented previsluy witnessed low voter turnout while as PDP’s stronghold Bijbehara witnessed just 2% voting, however PDP picked up its vote share from all six assembly segments but the boycott in several areas of Anantnag district including Anantnag and Bijbeahara put PDP to Number 3.

In Kulgam, National Conference was expecting around 30% voter turnout in Noorabad and similarly Congress was also expecting a good voter turnout in Devsar but the voting pattern in both the constituencies went otherwise. 20. 58 percent polling was recorded in Noorabad, 16. 84 percent in Devsar, 1. 72 percent in Kulgam and just 1.14 percent in Homshalibugh. 15842 votes were polled in Noorabad, 1682 in Kulgam, 893 in Homshalibugh and 15289 in Devsar.

Political analysts believe that low voter turnout in Noorabad and Devsar brought back PDP in the contest. “PDP picked up good number of votes from both the assembly segments but congress and NC couldn’t,” they added.

They said that all the big weight contestants- People’s Democratic Party President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference candidate Justice (Retired) Hasnain Masoodi and State Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir in locked in a triangular contest in this constituency and it would be a neck and neck fight.