Held Kashmir observes strike as 3rd round of election begins

By: A. A. Rathor

HELD SRINAGAR, Held Kashmir: As Indian voters turned out for the critical third phase of country's marathon parliamentary elections, Held Kashmir observed complete strike and boycott.

Strike, called by All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), shut the shops, business centers, educational institutions and courts, while traffic was off the streets.

APHC Chairman Syed Ali Gillani told that election would not be a substitute for Kashmiris’ right of self determination. He appealed Kashmiris to convey their message to rest of the world by boycotting the so-called elections that they will continue their struggle for right of self determination.

Television exit polls said the ruling coalition led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) risked losing its parliamentary majority after setbacks in key states that voted Monday including northern Uttar Pradesh. But the polls showed the main opposition Congress party faring even weaker than the BJP. All major parties have tried to block the broadcast of exit polls, saying they could unfairly influence voters in the final two rounds of voting.

Election Commission spokesman A.N. Jha told reporters in New Delhi: “It is a very, very tentative projection that the overall (turnout) percentage is around 55 to 60 percent.” Some 172 million voters had been eligible to cast their ballots in the 137 constituencies across 11 states where 1,278 candidates were running.

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