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​Fresh openings: On the J&K Assembly elections

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The first Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir after a decade has so enthused people and parties in the Union Territory that expectations are rising that a new era for the embattled territory may be on the horizon. The erstwhile J&K lost its statehood and special status under Article 370 in 2019, which naturally remains a central issue for all political actors as campaigning gains momentum. Regional parties have promised to fight for the restoration of Article 370. The BJP has called them sympathisers of separatism and vowed that there would be no going back on the question. The Congress is walking a tightrope, avoiding direct references to Article 370 but promising the restoration of statehood. A record 529 candidates have filed nomination papers for 50 Assembly seats in the first two of the three-phase elections. Besides the mainstream regional and national political parties, the Jamaat-e-Islami, a socio-religious organisation classified as unlawful by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2019, has also fielded candidates from Assembly segments of north and south Kashmir as independents. It is a major leap for an organisation that always aligned with separatist outfits and boycotted elections. Even separatists are trying their luck in electoral politics, and this could potentially open avenues towards long-standing peace and stability in the region.

The J&K National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party and Sajad Lone’s J&K Peoples’ Conference, have pledged to reverse many measures taken after 2019 and revoke the Public Safety Act (PSA). The Congress, an ally of the NC, has expressed concern over “outsiders being allocated land, resources and jobs” and the Lieutenant Governor’s powers. The BJP has managed to expand its voter base even in areas away from the plains of the Jammu region. Its outreach to Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes attracted prominent Muslim leaders from the Pir Panjal Valley, especially from the Pahari community, which was granted ST status after years of their agitation. The BJP has already fielded at least 11 Muslim candidates from J&K and its campaign targets the family control over the two regional parties and the Congress. BJP election in-charge Ram Madhav recently said he hoped to see a new leadership emerging in J&K. At any rate J&K is all set to throw up a new politics on October 8, the date of counting. The Centre and all parties should prepare to seize the new opportunity for the future of a prosperous State within the Indian Union.



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