Kashmiris brave cold, defy call for poll boycott

Almost every polling station in Jammu and Kashmir, despite differences in weather, landscape and people’s traditional attire, looked similar during the first phase of Assembly election on Tuesday.

Voters stood in long-winding queues, with the 15 constituencies where polling was held witnessing a high turnout. The day passed off without any militancy-related incident.

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Change was the buzzword across the constituencies. Old and young voters came out braving the cold and waited for their turn. Thousands among those who voted were first-timers who had boycotted polls so far.

Voting in the Jammu and Ladakh region was smooth and brisk. The first phase looked surprisingly different in the Valley as the criss-crossing political buntings of all parties still canopied the roads, and the posters remained intact.

Men and women camped outside the polling stations, talking and discussing in small groups and children ran around playing.

There was neither fear nor stigma attached to voting. Separatists, despite their incarceration, have called for a boycott, as they did in the previous elections. The majority of the people, however, paid little heed to the call.