Srinagar readies for a violent election

Separatists are gearing up for a major showdown with the government in sensitive Srinagar on Thursday.

As many as 11 lakh electors will decide the fate of 15 contestants in the constituency, the main candidates being NC president Farooq Abdullah, his sister Khalida Shah of the ANC and PDP leader Molivi Iftikhar Ansari.

Tension was palpable on Wednesday, with the authorities imposing an undeclared curfew in the old city area.

Encouraged by the low turnout in the third-phase poll in Anantnag, separatists and militants have renewed their boycott call in the Valley. Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani called for a 50-hour bandh on Tuesday, after which a mob took to streets, prompting the police to baton charge and lob smoke shells. Scores of people have been taken into preventive custody and separatist leaders, including Geelani, moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chief Yasin Malik, have been placed under house arrest. The government is leaving nothing to chance and has deployed thousands of additional police and paramilitary forces. “We have created an environment for a free and fair poll. Nobody will be allowed to prevent voters from exercising their franchise,” the chief electoral officer said.