As the Election Commission embarks on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to hold meetings with political parties to discuss the upcoming Assembly polls in the Union Territory., there is every reason to be hopeful. The EC has already expressed its commitment to adhere to the Supreme Court’s September 30 deadline for holding the polls. But the central government will have to take a final call on whether to go ahead with the exercise or not.
The spate of attacks, particularly in Jammu division, has intensified concerns though. But it cannot be a credible reason for deferring polls, for it is difficult to put a definite timeline on when the situation could return to normal. More so, when the troubled nature of the region makes the region perennially unpredictable.
Also, all elections since 1989 when militancy first broke out in the UT have been held amid spikes in violence. In 1996, Assembly elections were held amidst a runaway turmoil in the then state. And if any more evidence was needed it was provided by the recent parliament polls which were held in the UT without a single incident of violence.
People in the UT are excited about the prospect of elections as they anticipate it would lead to restoration of statehood. But it may not happen soon after the exercise. As far as making any political concessions on Kashmir is concerned, there seems hardly any possibility of a rethink in the union government. The centre has no immediate plan to restore statehood. This was also obvious from the recent grant of more powers to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The fresh amendments to the J&K Reorganization Act, 2019, which give more authority to the LG, signals that assembly elections in the region may be imminent. By increasing the Lieutenant Governor’s control over the transfers and postings of all-India service officers like the IAS and IPS, as well as appointments of judicial officers, police, and law and order matters, the central government appears to be paving the way for a more centralized administration ahead of potential elections. These amendments indicate that the union government aims to safeguard its strategic changes in Jammu and Kashmir, ensuring they remain intact irrespective of the political shifts that may follow upcoming assembly elections.
Meanwhile, people look forward to Assembly elections in the UT 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. The last five 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. Here is hoping that the changes culminate into restoration of democracy and subsequently into reinstatement of statehood.
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