The Election Commission (EC) has finally rescinded the bypolls for Anantnag parliamentary constituency scheduled for May 25, thus exposing the gross failure of the Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition government in dealing with the prevailing volatility in the Valley. Qualifying the state administration's utter lack of control over the situation, the EC cited the Chief Secretary's report apprehending that elections being conducted in Anantnag on May 25 "might witness not only large-scale violence but can also result in an even lower voter turnout". Incidentally, the EC has not given a fresh date for the bypolls and, depending on further feedback, may hold it sometime in October this year, if all goes well. Earlier, the EC was forced to defer the bypolls scheduled for April 12 to May 25 after it witnessed the lowest-ever voter turnout of 7 per cent in violence-hit Srinagar on April 9, where eight protesters were killed by security forces. Citing a report of the CEO dated April 27, the EC said that after the Srinagar bypoll, the number of incidents of law and order being broken has increased and more than 80 incidents of stone-pelting by protesters have been reported in the Valley since April 10.

Source: dna May 03, 2017 01:41 UTC