Setback For 'Renegades'

THE good news is that the Lok Sabha elections to all six constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir have been completed without any significant interference in the polling process by pro-Pakistan militants. The overall voter response, at least on paper, has been impressive. Even in Srinagar, the turnout was 37 per cent. In two other constituencies in the Valley, Anantnag and Baramulla, the turnout was higher—49 per cent. And in Udhampur, which also includes the militant-infested Doda district, the poll percentage was over 50 per cent. Enough to make Government officials gloat—they have been reiterating that the polling percentage was proof that the elections was nothing less than "a shot in the arm" for democracy and that a proxy war had been won against Pakistan.

The results in the Baramulla and Srinagar constituencies have also been heartening. The candidates fielded by surrendered militant groups failed to win as was widely feared, and Ghulam Rasool Kar, PCC president and the Congress candidate from Baramulla, ascribed his victory to the successful campaign against Ghulam Nabi Mir, an Independent supported by the surrendered militant group, Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen. Kar polled 1,10,331 votes while his nearest rival, Mir, got 45,350.

 In Srinagar, the Awami League was pushed to third place with the Congress candidate, Mir Magami, defeating Farooq Ahmad Indrabi of the Janata Dal by 1,599 votes. In Jammu, Mangat Ram Sharma of the Congress emerged victorious, defeating his BJP rival. In Ladakh, too, the Congress retained its seat—thus strenghthening the Congress in the state.

The bad news is that even in the last phase of polling, the high percentage was achieved by forcing voters to turn up at polling booths. The BSF and the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen, took on the task of exhorting the people of Srinagar to vote—in large numbers. As in the other two constituencies, there were widespread allegations from voters outside the booths that they had not come of their free will. All leading to the obvious question: was the conduct of elections democratic?

Even more disconcerting is the fact that pro-Pakistan militants and the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), fast losing sympathy, hope to capitalise on the feeling of alienation which has been intensified by the strong arm tactics during the elections. It is now clear that the brief to the BSF as well as the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) was to ensure a high turnout whether the people liked it or not.

The situation in Kashmir, emphasise officials of the state administration, is different from the rest of the country and that sans stern measures, there would have been no elections. The ISI and militants' threat to disrupt elections loomed large and a large deployment of the army and paramilitary forces was justi-fied. The militants seemed to have retreated to the mountains and the pre-dawn rocket attacks on Srinagar on the day of polling was an isolated incident.

 While it is true that the troops were given the express task of ensuring a respectable turnout, barring a few instances, the security forces did not exert pressure on the people to vote for a particular candidate or party. However, there were manipulations inside polling booths in all the Valley constituencies, and with surrendered militants being allowed free entry into polling booths in the 'national interest', and election agents of mainstream parties refused the same privilege, no one is quite sure about the fairness of the polls.

This perhaps explains why the candidates of the Awami League, a party which was formed on the day elections were announced, have got a larger share of the votes than they would have under normal circumstances. The League, a political front for surrendered militants, conducted its campaign with the help of the gun and is widely hated in the Valley.

State administration officials, who had earlier denied that there was any coercion, now privately admit that force had to be used. Their theory is that unless pressured, the average Kashmiri would never have voted. As one official put it: "You drive them out from their homes and they will vote." The recommended euphemism for knocking on peoples' homes, using abusive language and threatening people with dire consequences if they do not vote, is "encouraging people to vote".

Encouragement of this kind was visible in Srinagar on May 30. What is unfortunate is that among those forced and threatened were people who would have come out on their own to exercise their franchise. But now they stood in the queues with their complaints. Those not on the voting list were also asked to report at the booths. In Batmaloo, Srinagar, a group of Sikhs were at the polling booth for the fourth time that morning. Each time they were told by the polling officer that they were not on the list, they would go back home only to be brought back to cast their votes by a fresh group of BSF men. "We have to get a certificate from the polling officer," one of them told newsmen. The polling officer was not willing to put the trademark indelible ink mark on the index finger of non-voters.

When confronted with these instances, officials point out that some people have to suffer in such an exercise—which they believe was nothing short of a war. The BSF, however, could do little but battle with protestors in the anti-election pockets in Srinagar. As a result, the voter turnout in downtown Srinagar was abysmal.

It was not as if polling did not take place minus pressure. In Badgam town, 15 km off Srinagar, neither the BSF nor the RR resorted to coercion. People came out in large numbers to cast their votes. Some of them said they traditionally supported the National Conference, but since the party had boycotted the polls they could not think of any candidate to vote for. Others said they were voting Congress. None of the people this correspondent met had any complaints against the security forces. But in the villages, where it is most active, allegations against the RR could be heard once again. The cities have been left to the BSF.

At most booths, the voters interviewed were not sure about the candidates in the fray. Though officials claim over 600 election rallies were held in the Valley, it does not seem to have had an impact. Almost all the candidates from mainstream political parties have complained that campaigning was severely cramped due to pressure from surrendered militants who threatened party workers—allegations which have been denied by the state administration.

To add to this, no newspaper has been published in Srinagar for a month, making it difficult for candidates to air their views. Newspaper owners withdrew the publications after a ban was imposed by the Government on publishing anti-state, pro-militant news. In retaliation, the militants imposed a ban on publishing any Government circulars.

The official line is to brush aside any criticism of the polls. Even as Chief Secretary Ashok Kumar was preparing to brief the press about the "successful completion of the election process in Srinagar and Udhampur", Bashir Ahmed Kithoo, an Independent candidate from Srinagar, was registering his protest with the state administration. He alleged that militants had smuggled 'outsiders' in buses and were forcibly casting votes. But Kithoo's complaints went unheard.

Now that the Lok Sabha election process has been completed, there is talk of conducting assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. By taking mainstream political parties into confidence and seeking their active involvement, the next round of elections could perhaps be free and fair.