Jammu and Kashmir elections

Prof. M. K. Bhat
The declaration of election dates in Jammu and Kashmir by the election commission has raised a plethora of questions in the mind of general public, namely whether the time is feasible for elections, whether it will influence the distribution of relief or will it lead to better distribution rather the subjective treatment with an eye on elections? (The major state political parties have not objected the timing except the ruling party which is already at a poor wicket due to its poor show at the time of natural calamity or during its rule in the last five years) Can Modi make his hatrick after Haryana and Maharashtra and thereby open his account with a big bang in J&K? Will people give one more chance to the already tested parties or try BJP which will be the only new party to be tested in the state? Will BJP try on its own or make a coalition with certain groups/parties in Kashmir? What will be the main agendas for political parties to offer in their manifestoes to people?  How much success will the boycott call of extremist forces get? Can people come out boldly in favor of elections like the previous elections or not? Will there be a chief minister from Jammu to lead the state, if BJP gets maximum seats from Jammu region? (There has been none other than from Kashmir province, though there is no constitutional barrier in having anyone from the three regions)  Will the new incumbent be in a position to develop peace and rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits? How the new government can work for the betterment of people? These and many more questions are in the voter’s mind but the decision will be decisive and unpredictable as the voter of 2014 is getting away from the influence of G Hazori . He knows pros and cons of his voting decision. He decided very consciously against the compulsions of coalition politics, when no one had even predicted a clear majority for any political party. Analysts, political parties including BJP had never ever expected a clear majority but the voter made it possible after a due evaluation of every alternative before him.
My only saying to the voter is to refrain from ideological or individualistic G- hazoori which can prove costly for everyone later.  G- Hazoori haunts every Indian and it may take a long time to come out of this stark reality. It is well said that mental slavery is worse than economic slavery so better to evaluate every option before casting your vote.
The hysteria of certain influential families and their ideologies at the state and central level is such that it obstructs our free thinking and desists us from making bold decisions. This is because we were made to wear glasses manufactured by vested people best suited to their interests. The non existence of any other strong alternative over the years too can be a reason.  It is an irony that after sixty seven years of our independence we have to deal with basic things like Swacch Bharat, Toilet facilities for girls in schools, Cleaning of rivers, financial inclusion, safe drinking water, even a big chunk of people has to be made aware that washing of hands before taking meals. Contribution of people other than the members of the influential families is to be dug out to put the contemporary history on right track etc It seems as if the ruling class over the years had lost touch with the common people or they acted as strangers without any love for their own people. I know that secularist thinkers feel uncomfortable by these remarks as they were the beneficiaries of the harkari they performed for their masters over the years and now suspect things as strange because the focus to rule has got replaced by the focus to serve.
In my discussion with a cross section of people from the state, I got three main impressions which involve the public attention at large. Firstly, people talk about article 370 with impunity. Some people feel it too sacred to be discussed as if it has been drafted by God in any religious book, others frown when there can be so many amendments to the constitution why to fear from one more. Every law is framed as per the requirement of the time and needs a thorough revision in due course of time. Things need to be assessed as per the liking of people. It may not be out of way to mention here that BJP in its Lok Sabha elections had mentioned abrogation of article 370 and it got 50% of the total seats from the state (3 out of 6) that means a bigger chunk of the electorate believes that this article is restricting their economic growth.
Secondly, Modi’s communal stigma, will be a big issue in the elections unlike the previous Lok sabha elections Those who worked hard to label him with the things which even courts denied silently helped him to reach to his present stature. People voted against their witch hunting. Any rational person may say that there have been ample such incidents in the country, but why only Modi is singled out and others let to go free. These secularist friends fail to show the same care for minorities, while talking of Bhagalpur incident or Sikh roits of 1984.They fail to realize that the G hazori can fetch little as times have changed and people are wise enough to vote. The so called secularists ruled country except for a brief period of NDA for 5 years, but the fate of minorities has not improved. These self styled saviours of minorities created bad blood in them regarding other political parties and thereby created a safe vote bank. When they blame Modi as majoritarian in his approach they neglect their misuse of minorities for their own ends. The fate of Muslims in Gujarat improved drastically during Modi’s rule and it is due to this confidence in minorities that they voted for Modi in the Lok Sabha elections.
Thirdly, people talked of economic development, employment, education, sanitation, good health care etc. This group is of educated middle class people representing the majority of people in the state. This group has got dejected by low performance of various governments at the ground level over the years.  They feel that on the one hand, we have reached to Mars and on the other there is no light and other basic facilities at home. They also realize that their leaders have amassed huge wealth in the last 67 years of our independence. They have seen how their leaders least care for them after elections are over. This section has got fed up with corruption   and has to pay for getting even genuine things done. They see the high concentration of economic power in a few hands who exploit the innocence of people by utilizing regionalism, religious fanaticism and such other things to safeguard their interests. They want a solution to their economic desperation. They have seen rigged elections and ballot papers floating in Jehlum for which they have paid a heavy price. It is time for election commission to conduct free and fearless elections and for people to reply.
(The author is Deputy Director (MAIMS) Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha university Delhi)

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