Return to vote in Kashmir is a big positive 

The third and final phase of the ongoing Assembly polls will be held on October 1 and then the wait will start for October 8 when votes will be counted, and it will be clear on that day which party or parties will form the government. There is a widespread perception that it is going to be a hung Assembly. There will be king and kingmakers. Let me dare say that the post-poll scenario will not be guided by the ideological commitments but compromises to enjoy a share in power. This has been a bane of the oriental politics. Jammu and Kashmir is no exception. Some call it realpolitik, and may be it is so. This time, this place will have to accept the realities. The era of utopian concepts is more or less over.

Irrespective of the results, these elections often termed as “ historic” and tryst with the destiny of the people of this Himalayan territory- there is a need to look at some of the positives in the autumn of 2024. The polls brought a reawakening moment for the people – there is something more potent than gun that will enable them to say what they wanted in an atmosphere where fear doesn’t rule the minds

That’s vote. Kashmir’s vote has come out of the shadow of guns and fear. It is visible in queues outside polling booths, where the people articulate their desperation to have an elected government which, they believe, will take care of their day-to-day issues and make the development palpable and palatable. They are looking for both partnership and ownership in the development. These are natural voices, not the manufactured or tutored narratives unlike that of the imported discourses and interpretations.

Perhaps it is for the first time that voters in Kashmir were looking to vote to change the things beyond government formation as well. They are waiting to give shape to their future, which is caught in contradictory and mutually hostile electioneering – with BJP telling them that peace holds path to bright future as any talk of the reversal to the old times will bring back bomb and grenade blasts. While the regional parties, without any exception, wanted the people to realise that their identity and dignity were at stake in these elections. Kashmiris, as intelligent people, have sensed their opportunity in the air. They know that this vote is their passport to future.

In this desire, the elected government is one of the cogs. An elected government is crucial for them to have a political, linguistic and social dialogue with their MLAs and ministers, and Chief Minister, irrespective of the fact which party wins and forms the government. They were unhappy that their words used to often get lost in translation. Now they want this trend to be reversed. No one should be having grudge with this aspiration. Mother tongues don’t need translation. In fact, Prime Minister has supported the idea of the elected government in J&K in all senses of the word.

There is something more than that. Not only do they want their voice to be heard in corridors of power, but also that these corridors are powerful to redress their grievances in time and effectively. They want respect for their vote - empowerment of their elected representatives. They want real democracy and powerful government. In short, this is a shorthand for the restoration of statehood.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, during their campaign rallies have stated it explicitly: “ BJP will fulfil its commitment of making J&K a state again.” On September 26, front pages of Jammu newspapers were splashed with the BJP advertisements to this effect. This has underlined the importance of the issue of statehood. The fulfilment of the commitment refers to the promise made by Home Minister in the Parliament on August 5, 2019, when Article 370 that guaranteed special status and privileges to the state and its permanent residents was scrapped. He had stated that J&K UT will be given its statehood back at an appropriate time.

It goes to the credit of Prime Minister that he has reiterated this commitment to the restoration of statehood to J&K, giving hope to the people that it will happen. If it happens , the people in J&K who have seen unprecedented spell of normalcy in Kashmir Valley in recent years– will trust more the thesis, “ Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai”- Modi can make everything possible under the sun. This hope is intrinsically linked to their vote. In short, it has upgraded the status of vote of the people of J&K.

The sanctity of the vote has been restored. The people know that their vote will be count. It is a big transformation , and they got this feeling when they watched the outcome of Lok Sabha elections, in which they saw two former chief ministers loose. This respect for vote has visited them out of their own self-realization. This redoubtable factor is a perfect supplement to the other critical factors, the disappearance of fear.

The real test of all this lies on October 8 and thereafter, how the vote is seen, interpreted.