Ahead of polls, Govt strengthens J&K LG’s powers on matters related to police, all-India service officers
With the Central government empowering the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir by amending J&K Reorganisation Rules, it is almost certain that the frequently terror-hit Union Territory is going to witness Assembly polls in October, along with Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand. As per the new amendment, the Police, Public Order, All India Service and Anti Corruption Bureau, and Law Department will come under the Central government’s appointee Lieutenant Governor, limiting the powers of the Chief Minister, like other Union Territories like Delhi State.
Jammu and Kashmir State’s last elected government was headed by PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, which fell after BJP withdrew support in mid-2018. A year later, in August 2019, Article 370 giving special powers to the State, hit by frequent terrorism from across the border was quashed and the State was downgraded to Union Territory and separation of Ladakh region as Union Territory without Assembly.
Now after delimitation, the J&K Assembly will have 90 seats, apart from the 24 seats earmarked (symbolic) to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir territories. Among the 90 seats, 43 seats are from the Hindu-dominated Jammu division and the rest 47 seats are allotted to the Muslim-dominated Kashmir division. In the recent Lok Sabha election, J&K with five seats witnessed severe setbacks to the main political parties National Conference and PDP, with their top leaders Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti losing elections.
BJP got two seats and the National Conference won two seats in Lok Sabha elections. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah lost in Baramulla to Independent candidate Engineer Rashid, who has been languishing in Delhi prison from 2019 for terror funding charges. National Conference won Anantnag-Rajouri and Srinagar. PDP supremo and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti faced drubbing in Anant Nag-Rajouri’s seat. BJP won Udhampur and Jammu.
Apart from the National Conference, PDP, BJP, and Congress, former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad‘s flouted party DPAP (Democratic Progressive Azad Party) is also expected to test its fortunes in the forthcoming Assembly elections. In the Kashmir region with 47 seats, the main fight is between Farooq Abdullah headed the National Conference, and Mehbooba headed PDP. Interestingly, the PDP got only below 25% votes in Lok Sabha elections and the National Conference is expected to maintain the edge.
The question is how much Ghulam Nabi Azad’s party DPAP can fare in the forthcoming Assembly election in the troubled area, now witnessing a series of terrorist infiltrations. Many expect, that DPAP will be a strategic ally of the BJP, which does not have much say in the Kashmir region.
In the Jammu region, the major contest is between the BJP and Congress. There will certainly be an alliance with winners of the Kashmir region and Jammu region to form a government in the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.
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Democracies never prospered anywhere in the world. Elections or no elections, state will remain same. People will continue to suffer – read middle class.
For Rs. 6,000 the person shown the way to terrorists to kill bus load of piligrims. With such morality, elections cannot solve issues of such morality.
Tomorrow for Rs. 60,000 they will sell the state – which Hindus call it as “mother”