J&K ASSEMBLY ELECTION IS A BIG TEST FOR THE MODI GOVERNMENT

CAN THE CENTRE ENSURE PEACEFUL POLLING WITH GOOD VOTER TURNOUT?

By Sushil Kutty

The Model code of Conduct is in force in Jammu & Kashmir. Also Article 370 stays abrogated. Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have no complaints. The two are happy that finally elections to the 90-strong J&K assembly elections will be held. CEC Rajiv Kumar announced the decision in New Delhi on August 16 and repercussions were felt in Srinagar.

Of course, like all BJP leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is beholden to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi will get the accolades for holding the J&K assembly elections. People forget Modi was prime mover for the abrogation of Article 370. But for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J&K wouldn’t have been divided into three and elections wouldn’t have been a once in a 10-year blue moon!

Modi’s mandarins have been ruling Jammu & Kashmir since mid-2019 and it hasn’t been a happy ruling. More like a confinement zone with politicians trapped and common people bombarded with propaganda. Do Kashmiris trust these elections? The vast majority of Kashmiris are waiting, waiting…and they wouldn’t be any different from the Muslims of the plains.

At least, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tells it straight, batting on the front foot. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah never come clean. Modi and Shah now believe they tamed Abdullah and Mufti. Such misconceptions have been the norm in J&K.

Once Modi and Shah are banished from Delhi, for which the BJP will have to be defeated in 2029, Article 370 will be back in the statute book and J&K and Ladakh will become one again. Till then every little bit counts and J&K assembly election is welcome. Modi and Shah can take all the accolades for the short-term; the long-term will not be to their liking.

The BJP has already got a whiff of its impending doom. One more push and the entire edifice will tilt and fall. The J&K assembly polls will be held in three phases, beginning from September 18. Counting will take place on October 4. CEC Rajiv Kumar announced the dates the day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on India’s 78th Independence Day.

CEC Rajiv Kumar had nothing to say on PM Modi’s ‘One Nation- One Election’ demand. He left it to the media to question Modi. The Model Code of Conduct came into effect with his announcement of J&K and Haryana assembly election dates. Rajiv Kumar said the Election Commission was “committed to inclusive and accessible elections.”

The first phase will be held on September 18, the second on September 25 and the third and last on October 1, 2024, the day before October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, when around 87 lakh electors of the Union Territory would have cast their votes – democracy in action!

Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti cannot thank CEC Rajiv Kumar enough. Both dynasts have been out of power for over a decade. The last time the J&K assembly elections were held was in May of 2014. J&K’s electorate has been under central-rule since then. Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes J&K people are happy.

CEC Rajiv Kumar is another one who is in happy spirits. Kumar says the scenario in J&K has vastly changed for the better in 10 years, especially after the abrogation of Article 370. Kumar says the 2024 Lok Sabha polls strengthened “layers of democracy”, and J&K’s people were full of enthusiasm.

Rajiv Kumar, speaking like a BJP politician, said that the long queues at polling booths in the Lok Sabha elections were proof that “people not only wanted change but also wanted to raise their voices by becoming a part of that change.”

The message Rajiv Kumar conveyed was that “people of J&K chose ballot over bullet.” Kumar is prone to playing to the gallery and is not different from many election commissioners who tilt at the windmills. A high voter participation is expected. Kumar also promises “complete impartiality” and a level playing field.

That said, these elections will be held under a canopy of unprecedented terrorist attacks on security forces. The belief is that the “terrorists”, who have infiltrated into forest areas of Jammu are Pakistani army commandos. Some of these imposters have been neutralized, but not all. Security will be provided to politicians, but will the electorate step out and vote under a canopy of guns? (IPA Service)