Srinagar: If ‘Azaadi’ was the war cry of the nineties, today the Valley, along with the Jammu region, is resonating with a rare show of unanimity to the cry of restoration of statehood. No political party can ignore it.
Five-time J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah has stated publicly that the first resolution the J&K assembly will pass will be the demand for the restoration of statehood. As against this, Home Minister Amit Shah, during his visit to Jammu assured the public that that the government was committed to the restoration of statehood. But he added to it the caveat `at an appropriate time,’ post the assembly elections. And that is where the rub is.
Disgruntlement against the BJP and its stepmotherly treatment towards these two vital UTs is running high across the Jammu region. The public here is in no mood to forgive and forget given that abrogation of Article 370 did not bring the benefits they had been promised. On the contrary, they have seen their lands and jobs being handed over to outsiders resulting in the second highest unemployment rate across the country, according to NITI Aayog stats.
As one shopkeeper said on condition of anonymity, ‘‘There is 28 per cent unemployment amongst our youth while the figure for women is 48.6 per cent. The cancellation of the 149-year-old tradition of the shifting of Capital, called the `Darbar Move,’ during the winter months, has adversely affected our business. Tourists are going to the Valley while people in Katara are benefiting from religious tourism. They seldom come here. Worse, there has been a spike in militancy in our region.’’
Disaffection within the BJP is widespread. Corruption charges amongst the top leaders saw the party drop senior leader and former Deputy Vikram Randhawa has been chosen to replace Gupta in Gandhi Nagar. The BJP has named Bharat Bhushan from Kathua and announced Ghulam Muhamed Mir as the candidate from Handwara. Mir will face People Conference leader Sajjad Lone, whom the BJP had supported in Baramulla during the Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP is trying to make the best of the present situation by shifting some of their long-standing leaders to adjacent constituencies while fielding upfront politicians brought in from other parties. Sadly, the Congress has failed to take advantage of this situation and its own choice of some candidates is extremely suspect.
J&K observer SMA Kazmi pointed out, ‘‘The Congress should have taken advantage of the anti-BJP sentiment. With Home Minister Amit Shah spending two days in Jammu and Modi and other senior leaders expected here, the BJP has been able to improve its position. Even the Congress working president in Jammu, Raman Bhalla is not to be seen on the ground.’’
Prime minister Modi, in the course of an election campaign meeting in Doda, came down heavily on the NC, PDP, and Congress claiming they had promoted terrorism and separatism in J&K and it was under his rule that terrorism had entered its last stage. Modi’s claims were met with disbelief primarily because people across J&K believe a large number of independents fighting these elections have been `sponsored’ by the BJP. Already, 145 candidates have filed their nominations for the first two phases of his election.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah is having to fight against seven independents on his home turf of Ganderbal apart from having to contest against candidates selected from the mainstream parties. Abdullah expressed surprise at how a jailed separatist leader Sarjan Barkati had filed a nomination against him from Ganderbal given that he was defeated by Engineer Rashid in the Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla. Barkati is also contesting from the Beerwah seat. Omar Abdullah is also contesting from Budgaon, which is considered a safe seat for the National Conference.
Omar Abdullah is convinced he can identify the “designs” behind these nomination attempts and is determined to expose how those contesting against him from jails “are part of a well-considered conspiracy”. The NC leader alleged that these candidates have been “deliberately fielded” in these elections by the Centre to target him.
“Independent candidates cannot work for the people, they have only been fielded to divide votes in this election and to weaken our voice,” he said.
Mainstream parties are also questioning the BJP’s claim that the abrogation of Article 370 has helped push terrorism to the brink. The Ministry of Home Affairs released statistics that revealed that of the 76 terrorists killed in encounters in 2023, only 21 had been locally recruited. But this uneasy calm does not indicate the undercurrent of a widespread anti-Centre sentiment.
Farooq Abdullah summed up the prevailing mood aptly when he said that the present government at the Centre has `created differences in the name of religion’. Questioning the Centre on claims of job creation, the senior Abdullah pointed out that when he came to power in 1996, he helped create two lakh jobs with 300 jobs being created in every village in the state.
‘‘The people here are asking what is the present dispensation’s track record?’’ he asked.
Political parties in the valley refer to Governor Manoj Sinha as ‘Delhi’s Viceroy of Kashmir’ who enjoys unbridled powers. The unchecked powers vested in Sinha and a handful of bureaucrats are one of the main causes responsible for the rise of the Jamaat-e-Islami. The Jamaat has undertaken a door-to-door campaign and held a large rally in Bogam Valley in south Kashmir indicative of their increased support.
Polling in Jammu and Kashmir is scheduled for September 18, 25, and October 1, with the counting of votes on October 8. While Congress and NC have struck a pre-poll deal, the exclusion of Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP party from this alliance has also been criticised. Observers here believe that instead of dividing the vote, the NC & Congress should have reached out to the PDP. Boycotting the PDP in this pivotal election may prove a huge mistake.
