Clamor for polls
The Election Commission of India concluded its two day visit to the state. On its final day of the tour in Jammu the commission admitted that almost all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have expressed full faith in the ECI and batted for holding state assembly polls simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections.
The team, which was headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, held discussions with the representatives of various political parties, including the BJP, Congress, National Conference, PDP, CPI(M) and the National Panthers Party (NPP) in Jammu. The Commission had gone through a similar exercise in Kashmir division.
On the issue of need for elections, almost all political parties voiced the need to have both Parliamentary and Assembly elections conducted at the earliest in the state. The political parties sought the attention of the ECI towards the participation of people in the recently concluded Panchayat and ULB elections, saying that the people of the state want democracy to be strengthened in the state and that an elected government should take over as soon as possible.
Conducting assembly and parliamentary polls in Jammu and Kashmir is not an easy task. The ECI is faced with many trying situations which includes holding of fair polls in south Kashmir’s three districts which include Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama.
The three districts have seen a marginal participation of people in the ULB and Panchayat elections as the situation in these three districts is disturbing as compared to other northern or central districts in Kashmir region. The ECI will have to ensure a visible security setup so as to carry out a poll exercise in these areas.
The south Kashmir parliamentary seat was left unrepresented in the Lok Sabha since April 2017 after PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti resigned from the seat. The elections to this all important constituency could not be held due to the challenging security situation in the area.
The ECI is faced with another challenge of ensuring safety of voters in border areas and the areas falling near the International Border. These areas have been witnessing lot of cross border shelling which has made the lives of the people living in these areas quite a challenge to go ahead with.
IF elections are announced when people have fled from their native places and taken shelter in secure areas that fall far away from their native villages, holding of elections will have very little meaning for these hapless people.
The ECI is therefore faced with a very tricky situation. On the one hand there is a clamor for holding of polls among the political parties and on the other the government cannot drag on with the Governor’s rule in a sensitive state like that of Jammu and Kashmir.
The state is confronted with such varied and complex issues that an elected government with a good mandate needs to be to put in place soon. The sooner it happens the better it is.
KV Network
