India invited foreign diplomats to Jammu and Kashmir to witness elections, in a move that reflects New Delhi’s growing confidence about the prevailing peace and electoral process in the Valley. Nearly 20 diplomats of select embassies, including of the US, France, Germany, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia arrived in the Valley to get a first hand experience of the exercise. The invite is designed to send across a message to the world that Kashmir has come a long way in the last over five years. The peaceful nature of the ongoing Assembly elections so far and earlier that of the parliamentary polls attests to this fact. For once, the participation in the poll process harks back to the eighties. Entry of more political parties and independent candidates has made the competition fierce, which, in turn, has got people more involved in the process. Security-wise also, the situation has transformed to a large extent. This has happened incrementally over the period with violence declining sharply, reaching its lowest last year.
Although militancy has revived this year, more so over the past four months, it is confined to hilly areas of Jammu and concentrated in three districts of Poonch, Rajouri and Doda. This poses little threat to plains where the voting will be held. This is why the recent parliament election was one of the most peaceful ever held in the region over the past more than three decades.
The Centre, however, doesn’t want to take any chances: It has beefed up the security across Kashmir to ensure peaceful and incident-free elections. Nearly 300 paramilitary companies of CRPF, BSF, SSB and ITBP have been deployed in the valley to ensure that peace prevails.
Both the absence of militancy on the ground and the lack of the boycott call is likely to profoundly impact the election and consequently the outcome. It may or may not lead to an increase in voter turnout. The reason is that the poll boycott has become a default response among a significant section of people, particularly in urban areas. It is an over three decade old habit which may not go away easily.
One thing, however, is sure. For the first time since the advent of militancy in 1989, the people eagerly look forward to participating in the election. However, this approach to the exercise seems driven more by calculated pragmatism than genuine enthusiasm for the restoration of democracy. After six years of a sterile bureaucratic rule, people want an administration that shows some feeling and is accountable for its actions.
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