The sounds of democracy

The J&K assembly is echoing with political sounds after a long gap of many years. Whatever the resolutions passed, whatever the matters discussed and whatever the points made, that it is abuzz is what matter in the first place. The representatives from various constituencies, huddled under different party umbrellas, are bound to disagree on different issues. It is in the very scheme of democratic politics that parties and persons carry different viewpoints. They have different political ends to meet.

They have varied ways of looking at matters. They have diverse public constituencies to address. But in all this there is a beauty. The issues that matter in public spaces find a voice in the Assembly. That is how the governance structures are as a consequences of that informed. The first few days of the Assembly were supposed to get more optics, and it was a given that different political parties will reach out to their respective popular spaces.

That is what happened and there is no surprise in that. But from here onwards people would expect their representatives not to indulge only in political optics and symbolism, but also get down to do some serious business. People would also expect from their representatives that they wouldn't only be concerned about scoring  points against the opponents.  People have multiple issues and one by one these need to be taken up.

Given the 'hybrid governance' in place at the moment, there might be areas where the elected representatives cannot make any substantial difference, but by bringing up matters for discussion these representatives can bring in that necessary pressure on the governance structure that is needed to push matter a little further. It is not always how much power you wield, but about how much influence you hold.

If the people's representatives in the Assembly, particularly those in power, conduct themselves well and take up matters of public importance in right way, they can make a difference on ground. If that happens it can overtime add to the vitality of the mainstream politics and bring it closer to people. In the long run, J&K needs this democratic politics and it is in the interest of the people in J&K, and the larger region, that democracy sustains.