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Basharat Peer in Srinagar
People on the streets are hurrying back home and shops are being closed early. It is 1800 IST and very few souls are in sight. The traffic, which is usually decent at this hour, is thin. The air is filled with suspense.
Security forces are edgy and people are being frisked and asked to prove their identity. However, the situation is better than it was during the assembly polls in 1996.
On Monday, there were three attacks in the city. Militants fired a rocket grenade near the Habba Kadal Women's college, another at Soura police station and yet another at a polling booth in Lal Bazar area.
"These incidents are minor in comparison to the threats militants gave. We will ensure the security of both the voters and the candidates tomorrow [Tuesday]. We are confident that the elections will pass without any major incident," said K Rajendra, the Inspector General Police, Kashmir.
"The terrorists are turning desperate. Recently some civilians have been killed because of their allegiance to political parties; then there was an attack on a police housing colony. But these attacks have not caused any major damage," he said.
The state Chief Electoral Officer, Pramod Jain, said all necessary arrangements have been for the second phase of the polls in Srinagar, Budgam and Jammu districts. There are 263 contestants in the fray, including 20 women candidates.
"We will incorporate the lessons we learnt from the first phase in the second one. In the first phase some of our polling staff did not have the desired efficiency in handling the electronic voting machines. This time we have taken care of that and held joint training sessions for both local and the non-local staff," Jain said.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has asked people to stay away from polling booths.
At stake in this phase is the political future of National Conference president Omar Abdullah. Other heavyweights in the fray include state Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and rebel NC legislator Shafi Bhat.
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