Omar sees ray of hope in high voter turnout during first phase of J&K polls

Srinagar: Seeing a ray of hope in high voter turnout in the first-phase assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said people turning out in large numbers to cast their votes should not be necessarily seen as anti-incumbency wave. “Experts who would like to suggest a high turnout means anti-incumbency should look at the Lok Sabha polls where low turnout cost us all three seats (in the valley),” Omar wrote on microblogging site Twitter. [caption id=“attachment_1821603” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Omar Abdullah. AFP[/caption] The 15 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which went to polls today, saw a high voter turnout of 71.28 per cent. “Can’t have it both ways - low turnout = anti-incumbency & high turnout = anti-incumbency. I’m glad people have voted and hope this continues,” Omar said. “I wonder how long it will be before someone gives the credit for the high voter turnout to the BJP,” the chief minister said. PTI