Will Centre take the next big leap of faith after Article 370 nullification and restart J&K electoral processes?

It has been three years since Article 370 giving Jammu and Kashmir a very special status among the Indian states was rescinded. An ordinary beauty has returned to tourism in the burgeoning Valley again, although targeted killings of migrants and non-Muslim Kashmiris remain a concern. But there is also growing impatience that has brought political progress to a halt. So it may be the right time for the Electoral Commission to publish the council polls and the Government will fully support the EC in this endeavor.

Although the Delimitation Committee has submitted its report, there is no clear indication that the EC is beginning to prepare for the conventional poll. While Jammu and Kashmir is now a union territory, it was a state before that. Thus, not having an elected council and having a council of ministers to manage the area would rank with the local population. In fact, elections should also be a stepping stone to restoring J&K’s statehood. Union Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah said in January that state status would be restored as soon as normality returns.

Given the Pakistani hand that prefers a destabilizing J&K, Center must make its next moves cautiously. The security apparatus still seems to be concerned about the low level of targeted killing that seems to have been the preferred method of terrorism since last year. Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls later this year. Therefore, speculation that J&K will also be lumped together with these two states is very high. While the political parties in the Valley are clearly struggling, even the BJP, which dominates Jammu, is grappling with the next question for J&K. Will GoI provide some answers on the third anniversary of the revocation of Article 370?

END THE POST