Now that the verdict is in, the polls have sharpened faultlines, as the PAGD has won largely in Muslim-majority areas while the BJP has retained its dominance in Hindu-majority Jammu. This faultline mirrored the one on August 5, as opposition to and support for the Centre’s move followed this regional demarcation.
It is also clear that the newly floated party of former legislators, mostly from the PDP, J&K Apni Party, which had the blessings of the Centre, couldn’t convince people that development and not a political fight for restoration of J&K’s special status was the way forward. There is, however, one unintended silver lining: the polls provide the Centre an opportunity to listen to the clear message from the people. For, on the ground, even though the PAGD wasn’t allowed to campaign as freely as the BJP, its supporters came out to vote in significant numbers because they saw, in the results of these elections, a virtual referendum on August 5.
»Healthy Turnout in J&K District Development Council Polls, but Will the Local Bodies Make a Difference?
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Healthy Turnout in J&K District Development Council Polls, but Will the Local Bodies Make a Difference?
File photo of an elderly voter being escorted by her daughters as she arrives to cast her vote in Kashmir.
The government has said the councils, empowered under the J&K Panchayati Raj Act of 1989, are designed to streamline development across the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. However, some local analysts feel the essential purpose of the DDCs is to end all politics in Kashmir, permanently.