There is a palpable desire for polls in the region. The entire political class barring the BJP wants the elections to be held in near future in the UT. Some feel the BJP may hold election after the 2024 general poll when it expects to return with a fresh mandate. A report by Riaz Wani
Even as the country braces for 2024 general elections, there are no signs that the Assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir. And with every passing month, the hope that the polls will be held in the union territory before the national elections is fading fast. This, despite the fact that the entire political class in the UT, except the BJP, want the elections to be held in the near future.
J&K has not had an elected government since June 2018 when Governor’s rule was imposed after the PDP-led coalition government lost its majority following the withdrawal of support by the BJP. Subsequently, on August 5, 2019, New Delhi abrogated Article 370 that granted J&K special status under India’s constitution, and downgraded the state into two union territories – J&K and Ladakh. Since then the Lieutenant Governor has taken over from the Governor. The last four years have witnessed a drastic political makeover of the state-turned-union territory, so much so that in many aspects, the current J&K bears little resemblance to what it was pre-August 2019.
The BJP is claiming to have ushered in the peace but has somehow shied away from holding polls. This has forced the opposition parties to close ranks and demand election.
Earlier this month, a delegation of political leaders led by National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah met the Election Commission of India, seeking early elections in the Union Territory. The delegation requested the ECI to hold elections as soon as possible now that the delimitation process had been completed. The political leaders also submitted a memorandum to the ECI, in which they called for the restoration of the democratic process in the UT. The memorandum also mentioned that union home minister Amit Shah has stated many times that the government is ready to facilitate assembly elections, but the final call has to be taken by the Commission.
Significantly, the signatories of the memorandum included Abdullah, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and other senior leaders of national political parties. Other signatories were DMK, TMC, CPIM, RJD, SP and AAP. They have also decided to visit Srinagar in May to assure people of their support. This is the first such attempt by leaders from Jammu and Kashmir to seek support from opposition parties from across the country for the restoration of statehood and democracy in the region. And this initiative followed immediately after Abdullah rallied opposition leaders from Jammu division where they decided to jointly approach the poll panel.
