Arun Joshi
The August 16, 2024, will go down in the history of Indian nation when the first ever elections for the Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir were announced , a sharp departure from the full-fledged state and its legislative Assembly was the most powerful among all state legislatures in the country. This time , the announcement has given the people a hope that the Government of India and the Election Commission of India will live up to their word to give them a truly elected government of theirs after a wait of so many years .
They believe that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s promises to grant elections and statehood have started. The first step has come in the announcement of the polls, and next could be the restoration of the statehood.
It is an opening that the people and the political parties had been looking for years, especially since Article 370 was abrogated as they thought that the Assembly polls alone can deliver justice to them. They participated quite enthusiastically in the Lok Sabha polls, wherein the Kashmir Valley voters broke record of voting percentage of the past 35 years, giving an opportunity to the ECI and the Government of India to go in for Assembly polls. In J&K, the Assembly polls are reckoned as the real democracy. This time, it had become more critical as the UT was reeling from absence of local elected representatives in decision-making.
Still when Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Friday afternoon the Assembly elections for Jammu and Kashmir, a wave of happiness swept across the people of the union Territory as they have got a firm hope that after years they will have a government of their own men and women in place, freeing them from Delhi rule of more than six years.
The Election Commission announced three-phased polling for J&K, with first phase polling scheduled for September 18, second on September 25 and the third and the last phase on October 1, with the counting on October 4. This moment for the people of Jammu and Kashmir has come as a big relief as the ECI did not offer any ifs and buts on the issue. In the past, ECI had been playing out security reasons for delaying the polls.
Today’s announcement came as ECI was fast approaching the deadline of holding polls by September 30th. This deadline was set by the Supreme Court on December 11, 2023, when it directed the Election Commission of India to conclude the elections by the September-end 2024. Though the elections will conclude at least four days after the deadline expires, still the people are happy that it is “better late than never.”
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections had been on a roller coaster after the last elected Government of PDP-BJP alliance fell in June 2018, after the BJP withdrew support to Mehbooba Mufti , who was leading the coalition government as Chief Minister . Thereafter, the Assembly was kept under animated suspension for five months before it was dissolved on November 21, 2018. But the elections were not held within the constitutionally stipulated period of six months.
In August 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated, the state lost its special status, and also bifurcated into two union territories of Ladakh and J&K. After that the UT witnessed communication clampdown and imprisonment of all the top political leaders, including three former chief ministers – Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
It was after a sustained struggle that the political parties mounted a pressure and approached the Supreme Court that ECI was made to announce the poll schedule , which, now it appears will open a new phase of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir , where most of the powers are vested in Lieutenant Governor.
The issue at the stake in the upcoming elections, reigning supreme on the minds of the people and political parties is to save existence of Jammu and Kashmir as the parties believe that the outsiders have overwhelmed all aspects and sectors from bureaucracy to business.
Now the people are hopeful that the announcement of elections will lead them to have those in power who would listen to them in their language and redress their grievances.
Disclaimer: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
