Anantnag: Situated to the south of Srinagar, Anantnag district like other parts of Kashmir Valley is surrounded by lofty mountains with crystal clear streams flowing through the region. Even on a winter morning, Anantnag town's Lal Chowk and Reshi Bazar are teeming with people and shops are open even as Central Reserve Police Force personnel keep a strict vigil with their fingers on the trigger of their automatic rifles.
Some terror groups are still active in the district and the area is a high-risk zone. Struggling with problems of their daily life, the residents admit that terror related incidents have gone down in the past few years as compared to the 1990s and so have the crackdown by security forces. They also blame both New Delhi and Islamabad for not being serious about resolving the Kashmir issue.
Yet they are extremely excited about the Assembly elections and indications are that just like several others seats, the six constituencies in Anantnag, too, will witness a heavy voter turnout during the fourth phase of elections on December 14.
Lal Chowk area of Anantnag is plastered with banners, posters, flags of almost all the candidates. Electioneering is on full swing with vehicles fitted with loudspeakers seeking support for different candidates crisscrossing the area.
"There is no support for boycott. Why should we not vote? It is the time to elect our MLA who can solve our problems. We are happy that heavy voting has taken place in the state till now. We will also vote," said a group of people at Lal Chowk.
With six Assembly constituencies in the district, four of which were won by the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2008 elections, this region is once again very important for the party. PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is clearly ahead of his rivals in Anantnag and is also hopeful of occupying the chief minister's chair.
The district's six seats are Anantnag, Dooru, Kokernag, Shangus, Bijbehara and Pahalgam. In the 2008 Assembly elections, PDP had won Anantnag, Shangus, Bijbehara and Pahalgam while the Congress emerged victorious in Dooru and Kokernag.
Six years ago the Congress was in alliance with the National Conference but the two parties are contesting alone this time making it much easier for the PDP which is confident of cashing in on the winds of "badlav" (change) blowing across the state.
All the six seats have their current MLAs in the fray. Sayeed is contesting from Anantnag, which is also known by its old name of Islamabad. PDP is once again banking on Peerzada Mansoor Hussain in Shangus, Abdul Rehman Bhat in Bijbehara and Rafi Ahmad Mir in Pahalgam. The Congress has repeated 2008 winners Ghulam Ahmad Mir from Dooru and Peerzada Mohammad Syed from Kokernag.
Sayeed is riding high not only because of anti-incumbency against the National Conference government but he also has a lot of goodwill as people recall his tenure with fondness. They credit Sayeed for taking several steps to make the live of a common Kashmiri, who has been sandwiched between security forces on one side and terror groups on the other, much easier.
He was in power from November 2002 to November 2005. His government disbanded the elite anti-terror Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police. The SOG faced several accusations of human rights violations and was feared across the state as being extremely ruthless during crackdowns and interrogations.
"It is not the party but the candidates who matter. Politics has become a very dirty profession and those who are clean have no future. There is too much corruption and there are no jobs for our children. We want change. When Mufti sahib was in power, he did a lot for the state. He put an end to the highhandedness of security forces. Now we can move out easily," said Bashir Ahmed, a shopkeeper in Anantnag town's Reshi Bazar.
With the Omar Abdullah regime facing a tough time due to allegations of massive corruption, a lackadaisical administration, no development agenda, and poor relief and rescue work during the recent floods, Sayeed's party is going all out to grab power in the state.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party has put up candidates in all the six seats, yet it is not really a serious contender. But a Anantnag resident Mohammad Abdul Lone said that he would support the BJP as it is already ruling at the Centre. "BJP is at Centre and it will help the state a lot if it wins in Jammu and Kashmir too. There will be a lot of development if we have the same party at the Centre and state," he said.
But the main contest in the six seats of Anantnag is between the PDP, National Conference and Congress.
With the PDP chief ministerial candidate in the district, the party is not only confident of retaining the four seats it won in 2008, but is also hopeful of bagging Dooru and Kokernag from the Congress.
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