New Delhi: The Jammu & Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has really helpful to the Election Commission of India (ECI) that Lok Sabha and meeting elections be held concurrently within the Union Territory, ThePrint has learnt.
This view was shared by different political events together with the Congress, Farooq Abdullah-led J&Ok National Conference and the Democratic Progressive Azad Party led by Ghulam Nabi Azad.
R.S. Pathania, who was a part of the BJP group that met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar earlier this week, instructed ThePrint: “We have submitted that BJP is ready for simultaneous polls. We have no objection and have asked EC to set up special booths for migrant Kashmiri Pandit voters, who are more than 76,000 in number.”
Kumar arrived in Srinagar Monday for a three-day go to to assessment preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Former J&Ok chief minister Omar Abdullah had instructed reporters in Srinagar Monday that it might be “unfair” to the folks of J&Ok if “elections to the assembly are not held along with the Lok Sabha polls to save the BJP”.
“If the situation is conducive to holding the Lok Sabha polls and getting (government) employees to take part in the PM’s rally in Srinagar then assembly elections are also possible,” he mentioned.
Former Congressman Ghulam Nabi Azad, who floated his celebration in September 2022, additionally raised the same demand Saturday. “We have been waiting for the assembly polls for years. We hope that the polls take place immediately after the parliamentary election. I think the people of Jammu and Kashmir cannot wait anymore now,” he instructed reporters.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had in December final yr directed the central authorities to make sure that meeting elections are held in J&Ok by September 2024. Though meeting elections haven’t been held within the UT since 2014, polling was held there final in December 2020 for election to the District Development Councils (DDC).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s go to to Kashmir earlier this month, the primary for the reason that abrogation of Article 370, simply forward of the Lok Sabha polls, coupled together with his remarks — “main yahan dil jeetne aaya hun (I have come here to win hearts)” — had led to hypothesis that Modi was signalling celebration employees to gear up for simultaneous polls in J&Ok.
The BJP’s J&Ok unit has been holding camps and instructing employees to arrange for polls. Local leaders are being inducted into the celebration nearly regularly and groups have been fashioned to supervise preparations at district and constituency ranges.
Devinder Kumar Manyal, basic secretary of the J&Ok BJP, instructed ThePrint, “The entire political landscape (in J&K) has changed after the Prime Minister’s rally in Kashmir. The Prime Minister struck an emotional cord with the people of Kashmir. Since (Article) 370 was scrapped, developmental work has been undertaken in various forms across the UT.”
“We are ready for simultaneous elections. It is up to the EC to take a call and look into other issues such as security and logistics,” he added.
A BJP functionary from the valley shared this view, including that holding simultaneous polls within the UT would “depend on the availability of security forces since there is a logistical and security challenge involved”.
“We cannot delay the poll process any longer since people here have been waiting for their elected representatives for the last five years. L-G rule cannot be a substitute for an elected government,” a J&Ok BJP functionary instructed ThePrint on situation of anonymity.
He added, “The best case scenario is to hold elections (in J&K) when the national mood is in favour of PM Modi. People in our country are ready to vote for Modi, so why can we not use this opportunity to hold simultaneous elections here?”
Pointing out that simultaneous polls are already held in 4 states (Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim), he argued, “security arrangements will already be made for the Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls can be held at the same time with a little extra deployment.”
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Amarnath yatra, safety challenges & BJP push
While many inside the BJP really feel now stands out as the ‘best time’ to carry meeting polls in J&Ok, there are additionally those that imagine holding simultaneous polls will not be possible on account of safety challenges.
“Holding simultaneous polls (in J&K) is not feasible since you need massive security deployment in J&K. This will be the first election to be held there since Article 370 was scrapped. The Centre will not find it suitable to take a security risk in a sensitive region,” a senior BJP chief instructed ThePrint.
The chief added, “There are many states where additional forces will have to be deployed such as West Bengal and states in the Northeast.”
“It would be feasible to hold assembly elections (in J&K) just after the Lok Sabha polls, in the first week of June, before the start of the Amarnath yatra. Once the yatra begins, there will be other security challenges, which is why elections can be held either before, or after its conclusion in August.”
Addressing hundreds who had gathered on the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar to listen to him, Modi had mentioned on 7 March that “Jammu and Kashmir is scaling new heights of development, as it breathes freely; this liberation from restrictions followed abrogation of Article 370”.
He additionally mentioned: “I will continue my efforts towards winning your hearts even in the future. And this is Modi’s guarantee!”
Since the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories (J&Ok and Ladakh), the central authorities has taken varied measures to win favour with voters within the UT. These embrace reservations for Gujjars and Bakarwals in authorities jobs and academic establishments, granting ST standing to Paharis, and delimitation of parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
J&Ok BJP spokesperson Sunil Sethi mentioned the celebration is “ready for elections but it is up to the Centre to assess the ground situation and security challenges since forces are also to be deployed to safeguard the Amarnath yatra”.
A BJP chief who has served as a minister in J&Ok added, “In the Lok Sabha elections, the Centre has to provide security only to 25-30 candidates who are contesting the polls but in the case of simultaneous elections, security cover will also have to be given to more than 500 candidates contesting the assembly polls, besides those in the fray for parliamentary seats.”
“It will be a challenge for security forces, like the one they faced during the DDC polls for which candidates had to be provided security cover for several months. Although it depends on how the Centre sees the various security aspects. From a logistical point of view, holding simultaneous polls will have challenges but is strategically suitable for the Centre.”
Asked about his expectation of how the celebration would fare if meeting polls have been to be held within the UT, J&Ok BJP vp Yudhvir Sethi mentioned, “Not only will the party perform exceptionally well in Jammu region — our target is to get 35+ seats from Jammu — we also expect 8-10 seats from the valley to form the next government in the UT.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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