Priorities of Jammu and Kashmir voters: Employment figures high on the list

Different labour surveys have highlighted that J&K has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election was held in a unique and singular backdrop. They were the first ever after the reading down of Article 370 five years ago. Last Assembly elections happened ten years ago when J&K was a full-fledged State with a special status. A decade of non-representation at that tier of governance structure would get reflected in the issues that the population felt have been left unaddressed by the Centre-appointed Lieutenant-Governor’s administration.

CSDS-Lokniti survey data indicates that economic issues seem to outweigh political issues with unemployment topping the list as 42 per cent of the voters in both regions prioritised it over other issues. This finding is in continuation of a long trend about what voters perceived J&K election can achieve. They saw the Assembly polls as a vehicle to address their bread and butter concerns rather than larger political questions about the State of J&K in the Indian union. Thus, Article 370 and the restoration of Statehood are ranked much lower than development-related concerns.

One can understand why unemployment figures top among the development concerns, since different labour surveys have highlighted that J&K has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Similar concerns of unemployment have been flagged in both the regions (41% in Kashmir and 43% in Jammu) (Table 1).  Political parties also recognised that and gave it a prominent place in their respective manifestoes and voters also identified these concerns while voting. Data suggest that those who identified unemployment as the most important electoral issue while voting chose National Conference(NC)-Congress(39%) alliance over the BJP(24%) (Table 2).

While there is a convergence on economic issues across party and regional lines, there is a stark difference in how much importance voters give to political questions. For those in the Kashmir Valley, restoration of both Article 370 and Statehood had played an important role in their broader political calculus. In the Jammu region, this narrative does not figure at all. The difference becomes all the more visible while looking at voters of particular political parties.

Looking beyond the two main political players, the other three parties that the voters voted for —AIP, PDP, and AP— are mostly Valley-based parties. For them, the restoration of Article 370 is their biggest priority.  

In sum, like any other election, in J&K, the priorities of the voters differed regionally. This is well established by our data as well as the election results.    

The author is the Honorary Director of Institute of J&K Affair