Srinagar (TDI): A caravan of vibrantly colored cars, adorned with flags, pulls into a village in Kashmir ruled by India on a sunny September afternoon in preparation for an election rally.
One of the cars’ sunroofs gently opens to reveal politician Iltija Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The third-generation head of one of the most powerful political dynasties in the area yells, “Yeli ye Mufti (When Mufti will be in power),” to an audience that has assembled to hear her.
All of them answer simultaneously, “Teli Tch’le Sakhti (Then the repression will end).”
Army soldiers with automatic guns and protective jackets monitor every move from a distance.
In Kashmir, a region known for violence and instability, elections are being held for the first time in ten years in 47 assembly seats. Three battles between the nuclear-armed neighbors have resulted from the territory, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.
Thousands of people, including security personnel and civilians, have died in an armed rebellion against Indian control during the 1990s.
The 43 seats in the neighboring Jammu area, which has a Hindu majority, will also be up for election in the three phases.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two federally controlled regions and its autonomy was revoked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration in 2019.
This election is the first since that time. From that point on, a federal administrator has been in charge of the area.
Thirteen major parties are fighting it out for control of the assembly’s ninety seats.
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Omar Abdullah’s National Conference (NC) and Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP are the two main regional parties and the principal players. Abdullah and Mufti were both the region’s previous chief ministers.
The major opposition party in India, the Congress, has forged an alliance with the NC.
Though it has a strength in Jammu but a weak political basis in the valley, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also running, but not many people are placing bets on the party.
After winning all of Jammu in the 2014 elections, the BJP teamed up with the PDP to establish a government. After years of tensions, the alliance broke up in 2018.
This time, Engineer Rashid—a contentious politician who was just out on bond after serving five years in prison on terror-related charges.
When Rashid unexpectedly defeated Abdullah in the general election earlier this year, the world took notice. While his kids led a moving campaign locally, he waged the election from behind bars.
Elections in Kashmir have always been controversial; locals and leaders of the separatist movement frequently abstain from them, seeing them as a ploy by Delhi to legitimize its rule.
There have been 12 elections in Kashmir since 1947, however there has frequently been low voter turnout and violent voting.
Security personnel are alleged to have coerced voters into casting ballots, while militants have targeted polling places. Masked organizations have assassinated or abducted hundreds of political workers throughout the 1990s.
Even separatist leaders, however, are running for multiple seats for the first time in decades.
Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) led by Rashid and the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) party are the most closely monitored of these.
A local legislature headed by a chief minister and council of ministers will be chosen by popular vote. Even though Delhi will only grant the assembly limited authority, it has raised hopes for political reform in the valley.
The restoration of the region’s unique status and statehood has been promised by almost all opposition parties.
While the BJP has said that it will not restore autonomy, it has pledged to give Jammu and Kashmir statehood “at a suitable time after the elections.”
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It seems that most locals were at peace with their region’s loss of independence.
In a “politically charged” environment, parties were promising to restore autonomy in order to win votes, according to research professor Suheel Mir. “I don’t think Article 370 will come back unless any miracle happens,” Mir added.
Aside from unemployment, which is a big problem in Jammu, a number of young men and women expressed that their concerns were primarily about political instability, corruption, and unemployment in general.
To find a solution to our daily problems, we wish to vote. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that it was unrelated to the Kashmir dispute.
However, several others stated that they would not stand in the election just to vote against the BJP since they did not want to appear as though they had accepted the events of 2019.
Zameer Ahmad, 38, stated, “We want to let the administration know that we will not tolerate the revocation under any circumstances.”
The government said that it was vital to restore normalcy in India’s sole Muslim-majority area when it repealed Article 370, the 70-year-old constitutional provision that granted the province its autonomy, five years ago.
Curfews, mass detentions, heavy security measures, and a month-long internet shutdown were all brought on by the relocation, which also deprived the locals of their rights to land and employment.
Since then, hundreds of millions of dollars have been announced for projects in Kashmir that Modi and his Ministers claim are part of a strategy to link the territory’s economy with the rest of India.
They have also talked extensively about a new era of peace and development in the region. In order to conduct business in Jammu and Kashmir, foreigners were prohibited from purchasing land until the region’s unique status was lifted.
Locals contend that despite these initiatives, they have not yet seen their share of benefits and still face high unemployment and violence.
With authority that has given rise to decades of accusations of human rights violations, thousands of Indian army troops are still based there permanently.
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Political scientist Noor Ahmad Baba stated, “In Kashmir, there is no democracy or freedoms, and a large number of political activists are still imprisoned.”
“It is possible for voters to express support or opposition to these reforms during the election.”
Everywhere you see, the mood has changed.
Poll results are openly discussed over chai by men working at nearby bakeries in Jammu and Kashmir, where party flags, posters, and billboards fill the streets.
“The conventional political narratives have undergone a total makeover. Elections were once marked by public boycotts. However, nowadays days it serves as a way to assign the appropriate person to repair harm,” according to researcher Tooba Punjabi.
The historical 58.46% voter participation in Kashmir during the parliamentary election earlier this year further demonstrated the shift in political sentiments.
Regional parties are now the focus of much residents’ hopes that their demands would be met.
Businessman Tahir Hussain stated, “These parties have served as a buffer between Delhi and Kashmir, and that it didn’t matter who led the administration as long as it was local.”
In Jammu, where internal strife and infighting have hindered the BJP’s objectives, analysts think the party’s performance could suffer a serious setback this time.
Dissatisfaction with the party’s policies is also causing residents to become more and more irate.
People in Jammu have responded favorably to the BJP’s campaign for development thus far, believing it will open up more economic prospects for them.
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However, many claim that they have not yet noticed any changes. “In reality, more and more visitors from neighboring states are visiting Jammu now that Article 370 has been repealed. We are losing our rights to jobs and land,” local legislator Gulchain Singh Charak stated.
The main BJP spokesman in the area, Sunil Sethi, denied the claims.
The speaker stated, “We have constructed roads, made significant infrastructural improvements, and drawn in foreign investors.”
