Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar made a significant comment about the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. He observed: “There is vacuum that needs to be filled,” and it immediately got translated into the widening duration between the elections held last in J&K, and now. Technically, this vacuum is about time. There, however, are larger issues involved, which this vacuum phrase invokes.
The last assembly polls in J&K, when it was special status state under Article 370, were held in November-December 2014. By that count, it is almost nine years between then and now. In practical terms, it’s since June 19, 2018, there has been no Assembly, first, it was kept in suspended animation, and then dissolved on November 21, 2018, in the most mysterious circumstances when a supposedly dysfunctional fax machine at Raj Bhawan, Jammu became the cause of not entertaining a plea by three parties- PDP, National Conference, and Congress, and few independents to form the government. Even if that controversial act of the then Governor Satya Pal Malik is to be condoned, the elections to the Assembly should have been held within the stipulated period of six months from the date of dissolution- that is by May 2019. Ironically, the parliamentary polls were held in April-May, 2019. It, in itself, dismissed the thesis that the elections were not possible because of the poor security situation. This logic remains beyond comprehension.
Again even if the argument is entertained that there are different sets of security covers needed for the parliamentary and Assembly polls, as the election of MLAs invokes intense electioneering and campaigning in wider areas than the Lok Sabha polls, even then some sort of date should have been announced. Prior to the abrogation of Article 370 and the split of the state into two union territories, the Election Commission of India had declared that it would take the call after the conclusion of the Amarnath Yatra. The pilgrimage to the cave shrine in the Himalayas in Kashmir, devoted to Lord Shiva at the height of 13,500 feet above sea level, however, was canceled on August 2, 2019, apparently, because it was under immediate threat of terror attacks. So that schedule got canceled with that only. As the whole landscape of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir changed on August 5, 2019, along with its political history and future outlook, the elections were not possible owing to security reasons, and also that there were apprehensions of noisy and violent street protests – holding of the polls that time would have been hara-kiri. Moreover, all the political leaders of the regional parties were put behind bars,- some under house arrest, others in detention elsewhere, and hundreds of others, stone throwers, and miscreants were also sent to jails. The issues got changed overnight from elections to Article 370 and the dismantling of the state into two union territories. In a place where the internet remained shut for almost one year, the elections were unthinkable.
There was rhetoric to show that doing away with Article 370 has brought changes that marginalized sections in society. There also was simmering against the move. There were several parties and sections of society who did not see the move as just a constitutional measure, depriving J&K of its special status and constitutional guarantees, but as something aimed at marginalizing their identity, culture, and demography.
In the hindsight, it’s clear now that the constitution of the Delimitation Commission in March 2020, was a move to gain time to test the ground for the political outcome. It was not without a reason that the Jammu region, perceived to be BJP bastion, got an increase of six seats from 37 to 43, while Kashmir, having more population, got just one more seat – 46 to 47. The Delimitation Commission report came out in May 2022- a delay of 14 months due to the Covid pandemic. After the Commission’s report, a summary revision of electoral rolls was ordered and it was completed in November 2022. That should have brought the elections into sight, but, in reality nowhere to be seen.
This vacuum runs against the spirit of democracy. The elected representatives in the Assembly form core of the democracy. If the people feel unrepresented, then the vacuum assumes greater and serious dimensions than merely the gap between the last elections and now.
