Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would be meeting the leaders of National Conference (NC) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to forge a larger alliance for the assembly elections on Wednesday in Srinagar
Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti (Photo Credit: Waseem Andrabi/HT via Getty Images)
New Delhi: Congress General Secretary and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Srinagar on Wednesday. The agenda is purely political. With the anti-BJP INDIA bloc falling apart in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) during the Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi has his task cut out. He is likely to meet the opposition leaders of the state including those of Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) and Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to find a common ground on the likelihood of a pre-poll alliance.
The NC and PDP are part of the larger INDIA bloc, however, the duo are bitter rivals in the state and fought the Lok Sabha elections against each other in the valley. And while the BJP does not have much base in the valley, both Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti lost their respective Lok Sabha seats from Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri.
On his two-day visit to Kashmir, Gandhi would not only want these two leaders to bury hatchets but would also demand adequate seats from them in Kashmir valley for the ‘fair representation of the alliance’. However, if they do not, Congress will have to make a choice between the NC and PDP. The Congress did not contest the Lok Sabha elections for the three seats in the valley in the larger interest of the alliance.
First election after being declared a UT
This will be the first assembly elections since J&K lost its special status provided by Article 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019. The state was also reduced to the status of a union territory (UT) with Ladakh declared a separate UT. Under the Indian constitution, UTs (with or without the legislative assemblies) do not enjoy powers equivalent to a state assembly and are controlled in varying degrees by the central government through its representative. With no real power in hand, the senior party leaders like Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have already announced that they will not contest the elections.
Can Congress demand special status for Kashmir?
However, the parties can come together to fight for the restoration of J&K’s post-2019 status. And while NC and PDP will demand the restoration of old privileged status for J&K, it will not be easy for the Congress to do so. Congress is likely to maintain a safe and tactical distance from the demand given its national audience and BJP’s likely pitch to label it as anti- Hindu party. The Congress, however, will have to put up a good performance in the Hindu-dominated Jammu region where BJP looks to have established its supremacy in the Modi-Shah era. The recent terrorist attacks in Jammu region is likely to consolidate people behind the BJP, always high on nationalist pitch.
The elections for the 90 assembly seats in J&K will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 4. After the latest delimitation exercise in J&K, the seats in Jammu division have increased to 43 (an increase of six) while the Kashmir division has 47. The total strength of J&K Assembly is 114 seats with 24 seats designated for areas presently under Pakistani occupation.
Eyes of the world on Kashmir elections
Meanwhile, the Kashmir elections have always been watched keenly not just domestically but also internationally and get wide coverage in the world press. The neighbouring Pakistan has always tried to discredit the entire democratic exercise in Kashmir and will not be any different this time. Meanwhile, the Indian government will have to ensure that free and fair elections are held without any fear or untoward incidents.
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