Stage is set for change in Jammu Kashmir with NC-Congress’s poll win New state government headed by Omar Abdullah has a tough talk on hand

By Sushil Kutty

The Bharatiya Janata Party lost the Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections. The National Conference-Congress alliance romped home victorious. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced Omar Abdullah will be the next Chief Minister. The Valley had voted enormously for the NC-Congress alliance. Almost as if there's no tomorrow. Jammu's Hindus gave the BJP a face-saver. But not to the extent the BJP expected. The Congress could have improved the NC-Congress tally in the Jammu region.

As many as 873 candidates had vied for the 90 seats in the J&K Assembly. The People's Democratic Party conceded defeat. Important thing is, with the NC-Congress alliance victory lots of things are bound to change in Jammu & Kashmir. For one, the BJP's wings have been clipped. The Lt. Governor will no longer be ‘King' and Union Home Minister Amit Shah ‘Emperor'.

Importantly, it wasn't luck that favoured the National Conference. The NC-Congress tally climbed beyond brute majority on the back of the people's mandate, mostly in favour of the National Congress. In fact, the Congress sailed through hanging to the NC's coattails. So much so, even Engg. Rashid, who had defeated Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla constituency in the Lok Sabha elections, couldn't make a difference to the NC's scintillating performance.

Compared to the National Conference, the PDP was routed. It was as if Kashmir's voters wanted a clear winner from the Kashmir region and not a split verdict giving neither regional winners a chance at solving their problems including the one posed by the abrogation of Article 370. Kashmiri Muslims are no different from Muslims in the rest of India. They too aren't overly grateful to the Centre for making life less of a hell than when terrorists killed and ducked. When stone-throwing was a daily occurrence.

Independent candidates, on whom the BJP had set stock on, were also routed. National Conference/Congress candidates defeated PDP candidates in many constituencies but that didn't stop the Abdullahs from extending a friendly hand to Mehbooba. In victory, generosity! The results were almost as if the PDP hadn't contested. Iltija Mufti lost from the Mufti family pocket-borough of Bijbehara.

That said, these assembly elections were Jammu & Kashmir's first since 2014. Also, the first after J&K was declared a Union Territory. Importantly, the first after the abrogation of Article 370. The exit polls had predicted a hung house, but it turned out J&K's electorate had a different notion altogether. Counting of votes started at 8 am sharp.

There were no incidents of violence reported as if the so-called “militants” were also waiting to see who the results favoured. A new government was to be elected after a gap of six years. The PDP-BJP regime collapse happened on June 20, 2018. The abrogation of Article 370 followed. J&K's millions were waiting for these elections. Also, all of J&K wasn't bowled over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vaunted “developmental works.”

There is also the Supreme Court deadline to return J&K to its ‘State-status'. The deadline has to be kept. Excuses won't be tolerated. Jammu & Kashmir continues to be two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. There are muted reports that Ladakh wouldn't mind returning to the J&K fold.

The Congress-National Conference alliance will see to it that the apex court's deadline is kept. The INDI-Alliance, of which National Conference is also a constituent, will also weigh in.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah had said Monday that the NC was open to collaborating with Mehbooba Mufti's PDP, which is no longer required. Abdullah said the Lt Governor had no business to nominate random people to the five reserved seats. The NC-Congress alliance plans to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. The five nominated members would increase the strength of the Assembly to 95 and push up the majority mark to 48.

The assembly elections were held in three phases. On September 18, September 25 and October 1. And to everybody's relief, the elections went off peacefully. In fact, a feather in the Centre's cap. Counting was conducted with a three-tier security arrangement at all counting centres. There is no saying when Kashmir would explode.

Pakistan is an interested party in the Jammu & Kashmir elections. Terrorism, insurgency, and cross-border infiltration are all thanks to this “friendly neighbour”. The thing is, how will the return of a civilian government in Jammu & Kashmir affect the ties, official or otherwise, with Pakistan? Both the National Conference and Congress want Indo-Pak talks to resume.

The Modi-led NDA Government is dead-set against having any truck with Pakistan, for the time being, at least. There is bound to be friction between the Centre and the J&K government on this count. People of the state will protest, those of the Valley. Separatists might resurface with a vengeance, with their own set of demands and their own style of protests.

Article 370 will be in the crossfire of the NC-Congress alliance government. Of course, nothing can be done unless the INDI-Alliance comes to power. For that to happen, the return of Article 370, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu would have to be convinced to revolt against Modi Rule in India! (IPA Service)