3 reasons why 2014 J&K elections are historic December 20, 2014 The youth have given New Delhi a chance. Now it is up to the policy- makers in Delhi to respect their political choices. Pervez Majeed reports from Srinagar. Image: People wait to cast their votes at a polling station in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI Photo F ollowing the devastating floods that hit Jammu and Kashmir in September, many were apprehensive about the voter turnout when the Election Commission announced the dates for elections to the state assembly. The enthusiasm of the voters and the vibrant and intense campaigning have surprised both pro- and anti-election parties and politicians. This is the fourth election to the state assembly since the eruption of armed conflict in 1989. What makes this round different from the earlier ones is that unarguably, post-militancy, this is the first time a huge response has been witnessed -- both in terms of campaigning and voter turnout. Like in the past, separatist and militant outfits gave a call for boycotting the elections, insisting that India uses elections as a proof of her legitimate hold on Kashmir. Today, they have been left embarrassed. In the polling phases so far, a high voter turnout -- a maximum of 72 percent and a minimum of 49 percent -- has rendered the boycott discourse bereft of logic and argument. A nother phenomenon witnessed at the hustings is the Bharatiya Janata Partys emergence on the electoral scene. Armed with the slogan Chalo chalein Modi ke saath, the BJP is attempting to accomplish its much- hyped and much-debated Mission 44+. The BJP seeks to secure at least 44 seats in the 87-member House to form a government in the countrys only Muslim-majority state. While there are a lot of ifs and buts attached to the partys ambitious mission, what is significant is the fact that for the first time in the troubled political history of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP has become so relevant. And more so in the volatile Kashmir Valley where till recently the party was gasping for political breath, given the strong aversion against the BJP. Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Kishtwar district, near Jammu. Photograph: PTI Photo B ig hoardings featuring Narendra Modi with his Sab ka Vikas slogans dot the valleys market squares and major roads. The prime minister has addressed four election rallies in different parts of the state, with the significant one in Srinagar on December 8. Responding to the unexpected public attention in the valley, along with its typical media blitzkrieg, the BJP has been conducting itself discreetly on sensitive issues like Article 370. In his address at the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar, Modi was tactical in his speech. He neither mentioned Article 370, nor terrorism or Pakistan. Instead, he tried to be compassionate, saying: I, as your Pradhan Sevak, have come to share your pain and anguish. Your sorrow is my sorrow; your pain is my pain; your problem is my problem... Taking maximum advantage of the popular disillusionment towards political parties, particularly the ruling combine of the National Conference and Congress, the BJP has succeeded in establishing its base in Kashmir. The BJPs arm in the valley is run by Kashmiri Muslims and the party has stunningly become part of the election discourse in a place where any kind of association with the communal party would have earlier invited ridicule. The party also boasts of being the only one to have given maximum number of tickets to women in the Kashmir province -- three, all of them being Muslim. We have got an overwhelming response from the people in Kashmir, as they have realised that other parties had been exploiting them in the name of hollow slogans so far, says Ramesh Arora, the BJPs election in- charge for Kashmir. A nother significant aspect noticed in the J&K polls has been the quality and quantity of the youth motivated to be part of the elections.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 16:26:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015