Arun Joshi
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar’s assertion that Assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir no matter what comes their way. The reference was clear – the security situation and the other methods that the disruptive forces might use will not be allowed to disrupt the polls, though he was very careful in not announcing the schedule which could have been binding on the Election Commission that he heads.
.“No one will be allowed to derail the (Assembly) elections in J&K. It should have given a firm hope that the ECI will deliver on its promise as it had made a fresh assessment of the situation , security, administrative and political parties’ preparedness for the polls , as these words came after a two-day visit of the three-member Election Commission of India to the two capital cities of the Union Territory Friday .But Rajiv Kumar put a rider and a very convenient one , which is always tagged with Jammu and Kashmir, that the Election Commission will review the security situation in Delhi with regard to the availability of the security forces ( for deployment) for holding of the polls..
Security in Jammu and Kashmir has been a big challenge especially at the time of holding polls, but making this as an issue this time seemed somewhat out of place. Indeed, there have been a series of attacks in some parts of Jammu region of the Union Territory where terrorists have shown their upper hand as the security forces have suffered deaths, injuries and more than the image problem. It is because in most of the cases, the terrorists have taken advantage of the terrain and jungles, as they are a lot highly trained in mountain and jungle warfare. Their number ranges from 60 to 80, and that is potentially very high number to disturb the situation.
The Election Commission’s repeated reference to the need of extra security and availability of forces for holding the smooth elections in J&K could be a genuine concern as it appears to be risk-averse or it just using the security as an alibi to keep the matters hanging in balance. It has come out with statistics of the polling booths, logistics and the deployment of the polling staff even in the most of the mountainous areas in J&K, but that is something routine. It is technical. The technicalities are important but Jammu and Kashmir is a story beyond these statistics.
And even if the statistics were to be taken into account, the CEC while affirming that the “time has come to give you, your elected government,” he did not reflect on the status of the time since the state had the last elected government - that was in June 2018. More than six years have passed and the ECI has discovered in August 2024, the arrival of the time for the elected government in J&K. True that ECI could not have done as long as the Assembly was in suspended animation from June 20, 2018 to November 21, 2018, but it was its responsibility to hold the polls once the Assembly was dissolved in November 2018. The elections should have been held by May 2019, but that was not done. The ECI, while arguing that the Delimitation gave its report in May 2022 and the last amendment to the reorganization of the state came in December 2023, simply shows that it had no intention to hold the polls before the Article 370 was scrapped in August 2019. That changed the whole scenario – the state was bifurcated, statehood was gone, and the delimitation was undertaken.
Now it is hoped that it will live up to its word – holding elections at the earliest in J&K. It should not be a case of there are many slips between cup and lips.
Disclaimer: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
