Three years have sped by since the UT of Jammu and Kashmir was governed by a democratically elected government. But the discord between power sharing parties and then the abrogation of Article-370 made it imperative for J&K to be ruled by the centre through an appointed Lt. Governor.
However, things as reflected by reports are about to change. It is Delhi that is allowing the regional political parties in J&K to regain momentum and is encouraging such parties to restart the political process.
Many media reports have pointed out that soon an all J&K political party’s meeting is going to be held at Delhi in presence of the Central leadership to discuss the future political course of the UT.
The political parties like Peoples’ Conference and JK Apni Party have already broken the ice and are actively participating in the political process much more liberally than others, while the later has essentially pioneered the resumption of political activities in J&K sooner after the abrogation of Article-370.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s nocturnal flight to Delhi is also seen as something progressive in JK politics, which happened on the same day when PAGD had organised its recent meeting at Gupkar.
What needs to be understood is that this time Delhi appears to be generously inclined to engage with the mainstream parties in J&K and may even go for an early election in the region as per some media reports.
Even the state BJP cadre has also revealed that the Party is ready for elections in J&K while dispelling the rumours of further bifurcation of the UT. However, many were skeptical of the armed deployment and a trust deficit was clearly seen.
Ipso facto, if something like this was about to happen, the regional parties would have never gone to Delhi, wherein it appears that a myriad of affairs are being discussed.
Furthermore, the ruling BJP is going to get busier in 2022 as the new year will commence with elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur scheduled to be held in early February-March while as Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat will witness elections in October & December respectively.
Political experts say that this might catalyse early elections in Jammu and Kashmir as well, some even suggesting as early as October-November this year. But a year’s extension for the completion of the delimitation process suggests otherwise. Still one thing is clear, the political ardour is once again capturing the great lengths of Jammu and Kashmir
