On Sunday, violence erupted at the Srinagar bypolls in which eight people were killed. The voter turnout at the polling was 7.14%, which was a record low in the last 30 years. After observing this development, the ruling party in Jammu and Kashmir, PDP, demanded that the elections of Wednesday be postponed.
As many as 200 violenent incidents were registered in which over 100 security personnel were injured. The incidents were a result of attacks by protesters at poll booths and separatists who called for a boycott. This election in Anantnag was a result of a vacant seat from which Mehbooba Mufti resigned in 2016 to become the CM after her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s death. Mehbooba Mufti’s brother Tasaduq Mufti was contesting from Anantnag and offered to withdraw if his decision meant the postponment of elections on Wednesday.
A day after elections, on Monday, government schools which were assigned as election centers in Anantnag were set on fire. On Sunday, according to the Election Commission stone pelting and petrol bomb attacks were a common scene at the election centers. Mobs attacked voting centers and destroyed EVMs so as to stop the polling. To mourn the deaths of 8 people, the separatists called for a bandh for two days on Monday and Tuesday.
The CM of J and K, Mehbooba Mufti expressed her grief on the deaths of the eight people. She said that they were teenagers and are yet to understand life and intricacies of elections.
