The Hindu : Standing the test

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 27, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Standing the test

WHILE THE REMARKABLY smooth conduct of the first round of the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir and the encouraging turnout therein were cause enough for cautious optimism about the success of the democratic process, the second — completed last Tuesday — has by and large helped to sustain that hope. The event itself passed off peacefully and without any serious disruption, despite a disturbing spurt in terrorist violence in the Valley on poll-eve. The most worrying moment was in Srinagar where a militant squad had taken three police officials captive and ultimately got killed after a fierce overnight encounter that continued till about an hour before the polling booths were to open. By all accounts, this incident had a significant dampening effect on voter response especially in urban parts of Srinagar and contributed to a poor turnout, which has been placed provisionally at 11 per cent in the district. Also to be reckoned with is that these are the areas where the separatist outfits constituting the All-Party Hurriyat Conference are believed to have considerable influence. Presumably, the Hurriyat's boycott call had its impact there.

That the average overall voter turnout of 42 per cent for the second phase that covered 28 Assembly segments across three districts (Jammu and Budgam, besides Srinagar) is much lower than that of the first (47.25 per cent) should come as no surprise. It was indeed anticipated that Srinagar, with its track record, would depress the overall average substantially, although the impression post facto going by the mood on the ground is that the figure could have been somewhat higher but for the `hostage'-induced terror. In a refreshing contrast, Budgam — the other district in the Valley to figure in Tuesday's poll — returned a reasonably good turnout, 51 per cent, while Jammu that accounts for 13 seats topped with a tally of 59 per cent. It is rather unfortunate that the Tuesday exercise too, like the one on September 16, has given rise to complaints of coercion and undue influence, although they appeared relatively muted. But there is little doubt that the poll managers have not yet been fully sensitised to the enormity of damage such initimidatory acts inflict on the credibility of the electoral process.

What is striking is the wide disparity in voter turnout, as suggested by media reports, at the constituency and local area levels, a trend perceived even during the first phase. In fact, there appears to be a distinctively dichotomous urban-rural divide, with the villages tending to record higher percentages. Of course, whether this will hold for the rest of the constituencies going to the polls in the coming two phases remains to be seen. Yet, the pattern throws up some interesting possibilities about a better understanding of phenomena such as voter apathy, alienation of the people, sway of the separatist/militant groups and so on. This is apart from whatever pointers one may look for vis-a-vis the prospects of major contenders for power.

The electoral process so far must be said to have stood the test creditably, given especially the formidable odds stacked against it. Particularly commendable is the response of the voters who braved the militant's gun and ignored the boycott call of some separatist elements to walk to the polling booth and exercise their franchise. And the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has thought it fit to `salute' the people of Jammu and Kashmir for having acted with "courage and conviction", even though the exercise is just more than halfway through. As the focus now shifts to the third round (scheduled for October 1), the pressure is all the more on the security forces to see that the rate of success is sustained, if not improved upon. Already, there are ominous signs of the terrorist groups having moved into those areas and, after the success recorded in the earlier phases, they are bound to redouble their efforts to sabotage the process. There can surely be no lowering of the guard, yet.

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