Sub-zero temperature no deterrent to Kargil voters. Unprecedented enthusiasm among voters marked the polling trends in the 2 Assembly Constituencies of the hilly district of Kargil, which went to polls today in the first phase of 2008 J&K Assembly Elections.

In Kargil Assembly segment by 11 am, 26% voters out of the total electorate of 58,488 had exercised their right to franchise. In Zanskar constituency, 12.5% of 20,348 electorate had cast their vote by 10 am.

Despite sub zero temperature in both the constituencies enthusiasm of voters was high as they were seen in long queues in front of polling stations hours before the polling started. Temeprature at Zanskar in the morning was –11C whereas it was -4C in Kargil. The biting cold, however, did not dampen the enthusiasm of the voters especially the youth exercising their right to vote for the first time.

The reports indicated that women in traditional colorful attire out numbered the men at the polling stations.

For the assembly elections 2008 now underway in Jammu & Kashmir, the electorate comprises a total of 65, 37,821 voters. The numbers are made up by 33, 85,147 male and 31, 52,441 female voters.
At a cursory glance, it becomes clear that the number of female voters is thus lesser as compared to their male counterparts. There are 2,32,706 lesser female voters as compared to male voters in J&K. In percentage terms, the number of female voters is approximately seven per cent lesser as compared to the male voters.

This is something that is in keeping with the adverse male-female ratio in almost all walks of life in our country. Female infanticide, dowry, preference for male child and such other things have contributed to this adverse ratio. Of course, things are changing, for the better, but the pace of change leaves a lot to be desired.

Amid it all, Kargil district (going to the polls on November 17) stands out as a shining example of empowerment of women at the grassroots level, by way of enfranchisement. The district has more female voters than male voters.

In an electorate of 78,117 in the district, the number of female voters is 39,347 and there are 38,770 male voters. This means there are 577 more female voters in the district than male voters. In fact, female voters outnumber male voters in both the constituencies of Kargil and Zanskar and that is something unique, and makes Kargil district very, very special as a model of women’s empowerment, at the grassroots level.

In Kargil constituency, there are 58,073 voters, including 29,243 female voters and 28,830 male voters. The number of female voters in Kargil constituency is thus bigger and by a margin of 413.
In Zanskar (the other constituency of the district) also, the number of female voters is more than their male counterparts, even though by a very small margin. In this small constituency with an electorate of 20,044, the number of female voters is 10,104 as compared 9,940 male voters. The female voters outnumber male voters by a slender margin of 164.

In 2002 assembly elections also, the number of female voters in Kargil was more than the male voters. Of an electorate of 87,438 voters, 46,637 were female voters and 40,801 males. There were then 5,836 more female voters than male voters.

An accompanying chart can help to draw easy comparisons. The chart has been compiled by using the poll data of the 2002 and 2008 assembly elections.

In 2002, the number of female voters in the Nubra constituency of Leh district was also more than the male voters. In a tiny constituency of only 12,244 voters, the number of female voters was 6,150 and the number of male voters 6,094.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir has 22 districts, 10 districts each in the geographical regions of Jammu, and Kashmir with there being only two districts in the vast snow desert Ladakh. Therefore, of the 22 districts of the state, Kargil is the only one having this unique and extraordinary distinction.

Perhaps no other district in the entire north India, in any of the states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh or Uttaranchal enjoys this distinction.

Usually, the word Kargil brings back memories of the India-Pakistan conflict of 1999 when Pakistani intruders walked miles into Indian territory leading to skirmishes which gradually grew into what came to be known later as Kargil war.

The sharper focus that the war had brought Kargil into helped it in some measure. The infusion of funds for development has started changing the landscape. The benefits have started reaching the most backward areas within the district.

Paradoxical as it seems, the number of voters in Kargil has fallen down during the last six years. From 87,438 in 2002 assembly elections, the number of voters in 2008 assembly elections has now come down to 78,117, a decline of 9,321 voters.

Most elections in Kargil are keenly contested with polling percentage remaining fairly high. The final polling percentage in 2002 Assembly elections was recorded as 75.91, according to the J&K state information department figures.

Of a total electorate of 87,438 voters in 2002, no less than 66,370 had taken the trouble to visit their respective polling booths to exercise their franchise. This percentage was far better than many developed and urbanized areas of the state.

The number of voters in Zanskar has gone down 22,792 to 20,044 which is a decline of 2,748 in a span of six years. For the same period, the size of electorate in Kargil constituency has shrunk from 64,646 to 58,073, a decline of 6,573 voters.

In 1996, the total electorate in Kargil was 71,241 and no less than 57,262 had cast their votes. This translated into a very high polling percentage of 80.38.

During the 2002 assembly elections, the Kargil constituency was bagged by an independent Haji Nissar Ali. He was later inducted into the coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed as a minister of state. Later on, he was elevated to the cabinet rank and remained a cabinet minister till July 7 this year when Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from chief ministership.

For this year’s assembly elections, most of the parties in the fray have included tall promises about empowerment of women in their respective manifestos. The National Conference (NC) of Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah has promised to introduce reservation for women in the legislature.

The issue of empowerment of women has been touched in the Vision Document (in effect the manifesto without being named so) released by the NC some days ago. It is another matter that only two women have so far got the party’s mandate to fight the elections to the 87-member assembly.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Mohammed Sayeed, headed by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti is no different when it comes to talking about women empowerment. In its self-rule document (purportedly its manifesto for the polls), the PDP has also said that it wants women to be empowered.

Despite a woman president (Mehbooba), the PDP hasn’t given enough tickets to women candidates for contesting the elections.
The Congress has not given any ticket to a woman candidate so far and this has angered its leaders no end, with some of them even threatening to enter fray as rebel candidates.

In Kargil, however, the higher number of women voters can mean that this sorry state of affairs can’t continue indefinitely. There is still hope for women’s empowerment in J&K through ballot.