Jammu and Kashmir voted in large numbers in the final round of the Assembly elections, whose result will be declared on October 8. Voting was held for 40 seats, 24 of them in Jammu, making it the largest of the three-phase exercise. Jammu has again led with the highest polling with Udhampur figuring at the top. The Jammu division’s overwhelming participation has been the recurrent feature of this election. Kashmir Valley, on the other hand, has voted in relatively lesser numbers, albeit, without absence of enthusiasm as was the case in the past. This time around, large segments of population in the Valley abandoned the old inhibitions and stigma associated with an electoral exercise. This shows a certain restoration of faith in democracy as a means to address issues.
This election will also go down as one of the keenly contested exercise in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. But, ironically, it did not generate a wave in favour of any political party, including that for Engineer Rashid who was supposed to galvanize a mass mobilization soon after his unexpected release. But this hardly meant he didn’t whip up emotion. It is still not certain whether he will win seats across the Valley, but he is certain to create some disruption. The alliance between Rashid and Jamaat independents introduced a new factor into the evolving political tug of war.
The discourse was dominated by the issues like restoration of Article 370 and statehood, India-Pakistan relations, unemployment, development, etc. At the conclusion of the exercise, it is difficult to say which party will emerge as the one with largest number of seats and which as the second largest. However, the BJP in Jammu division, and the National Conference in the Valley are anticipated to win the majority of seats. It remains to be seen whether their respective number of seats will be way ahead of the other parties, or just modestly higher. It is, however, certain, that none of them will be in a position to form the government on their own. Post Article 370 situation has made any alliance between the two parties challenging, with the NC and by and large all other Kashmiri parties seeking votes on the assurance to voters that they will not seek support from the BJP to form the government. The BJP, on the other hand, seems to be open to any alliance, and in the event of the party securing more seats in Jammu, it could try and form the government with the support of smaller Kashmiri parties and Valley-based independents. For now, we can only wait for the outcome, and hope that it gives every section of society a sense of stake in the future government.
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