Chorus For Polls

The United Opposition on Saturday staged a protest in Jammu, demanding restoration of J&K’s statehood with full powers and withdrawal of powers granted to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The All Party United Front (APUF), a Jammu-based grouping of over a dozen opposition political parties and social groups, including senior leaders of Congress, NC, PDP, CPI(M), Shiv Sena (UBT), AAP and Jammu-based parties gathered near the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh at Tawi bridge to press their demand. Congress leader Ravinder Sharma accused the BJP government at the centre of downgrading the Dogra state and snatching “special status, dignity, identity and rights of J&K people”. As for as Assembly elections, the preparations are on track. The Election Commission of India is arriving in J&K on August 8-9 to take stock of the situation. Hopefully, this should lead to the announcement of the polls later this year. The Supreme Court last year set a September 2024 deadline for holding the Assembly election. And the union government too has assured the court that it will stick to the deadline. However, recent developments have put the prospect of the exercise in doubt. The renewed spurt in militancy in Jammu division is seen as a threat to the free and fair polls, making a section of security and political opinion to call for their postponement for now.

It is now five years since Jammu and Kashmir lost its special constitutional status and was downgraded into two union territories – Ladakh and J&K. Since, the central government has time and again assured the people of the former state that Assembly elections will follow soon. Not just that, the central government has also promised subsequent restoration of statehood. Both these promises have yet to materialize and there is hope that they will in the near to medium future. For now, we can expect Assembly elections to be held before the September deadline. And there shouldn’t be any reason for these polls not to be held. J&K has seen worst phases of violence over the past three decades but despite that elections have been held, just as the recent parliament polls were held without as much as an incident being reported. In 1996, Assembly elections were held amidst a runaway turmoil in the then state. So, the current surge in militancy in parts of Jammu region shouldn’t be a reason to defer polls. For, it is unlikely that that J&K could be expected to be completely normal in the near future for the Election Commission of India to hold polls. And postponing democracy indefinitely will hardly benefit the cause of peace in the union territory.

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