Farooq Abdullah wins Srinagar by-poll by over 10,000 votes

Farooq polled 47,926 votes while Khan polled 37,369 votes. NOTA (none of the above) were 714, election officials said.

Srinagar: National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah today won the Srinagar Lok Sabha bypoll, defeating the ruling PDP candidate, Nazir Khan, by a margin of over 10,700 votes.

Abdullah polled around 48,554 votes against Khan, who got 37,779 votes, officials said.

The polling for the seat was held on April 9 amid large- scale violence that left eight persons dead and several dozen others injured.

The constituency had recorded an abysmal 7.13 per cent voter turnout, the lowest ever in its history.

The Election Commission had ordered repolling in 38 polling stations in violence-hit areas on April 13.

This will be the third term as Lok Sabha member for Abdullah, whose victory is being seen as a major setback for the ruling PDP. He was earlier elected to the House of People in 1980 and 2009.

Although there were seven other candidates in the fray, it was NOTA that bagged the second runner-up spot with over 930 voters choosing this option.

National Conference workers did not celebrate the win of their party president as mark of respect to the eight youths killed in firing by security forces on April 9.

The state government completely failed to give security to the people so that they could cast their vote in peace and in harmony, Abdullah said.

"As president of NC, I demand and I request the government of India and the President of India that this government should be dismissed right away so that the Governor's Rule comes into play and people can have some peace," he said.

The bypoll to the seat was necessitated after the then PDP leader Tariq Hamid Karra resigned from the Lower House of Parliament in protest against the "atrocities" inflicted upon the people during the unrest triggered by killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani last year.

Talking to reporters at National Conference (NC) headquarters here, he said that while the election had been held, let us not forget that a number of young people have died.

Nearly eight young people laid their lives and many were injured, he said.

He alleged that people who are not involved in any stone throwing or anything are being arrested or taken out from their homes and that process continues even today.

It shows that this government has completely failed in giving peace and tranquillity to the state, he said.

The NC president demanded that the bypolls in Anantnag Parliamentary constituency in south Kashmir, which were deferred till May 25, should be held under the Governor's rule.