​Kashmir conflict: On the J&K elections

The first two rounds of the three-phase Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) elections have brought to the fore the contesting visions for the region, between the national and regional parties, and between the national parties, the BJP and the Congress. This is the first Assembly election in 10 years, and also the first after J&K lost its Statehood and special status in 2019. The National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have vowed to fight for the restoration of special status, especially bringing back Articles 370 and 35A. Both parties have made identical promises on releasing jailed youth and withdrawing cases against them. They have also hinted at revoking laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA), often used to take locals into preventive detention, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, frequently invoked against locals allegedly helping militants and separatists. Both have also promised to revisit the termination of hundreds of government employees on suspicion of supporting militancy, and the denial of passports and jobs to locals on the basis of adverse police reports. The issue of statehood and restarting the dialogue with Pakistan are also central to the manifestos of these regional parties. On the question of statehood, all parties are in agreement, but the BJP, which is in power at the Centre, is still non-committal about the timeline.

The BJP has ruled out the return of special status and Article 370. It has turned that into a weapon against the Congress and the regional parties, which it blames for the alienation of Kashmir from the rest of India. The BJP fielded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh among others in its intense bid to win the mandate in the crucial Union Territory. The party succeeded in undoing the special status of J&K, fulfilling one of the central pieces of its ideological programme. The party has always used its position on Kashmir more as a mobilisation strategy elsewhere in the country. But, this time, it is being tested in the place where it matters. The Congress, which is contesting the election in alliance with the NC, has been walking a tightrope on the question of special status. Its leader, Rahul Gandhi, has pledged to fight for Kashmir within and outside Parliament but is silent on the tricky issue of Article 370. While he has accused the BJP of using the J&K Lieutenant Governor to centralise power and disempower the local political leadership, the BJP has sought to draw parallels between the Congress’s agenda and that of Pakistan. The battle for power has caused parties and other actors to drift away from any possible convergence.