How important are elections to realise the vision of new Kashmir?

 

In his first interview to a television channel during the current campaigning for the Assembly elections in 5 States, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah revealed to News18 on Monday, 21 February, that the President’s rule could end in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir “in 6-8 months after completion of the delimitation process”.

“The delimitation exercise is about to get over. After this, whatever will be the reasonable timeframe – about six-eight months – the elections will be held. There should be no confusion about that”, Shah said in reply to a question. The question of when exactly would the Election Commission of India (ECI) hold the next Assembly elections—the first after creation of the UT in August 2019—looms large in every conversation about the erstwhile State.

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Even in the last two years, Shah has invariably asserted that the Assembly elections in J&K would be conducted quickly after completion of the delimitation process. What a common man gathers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister’s statements is that the Centre was committed to hold the Assembly elections after delimitation of the constituencies which would be followed by formation of the first popular government in the UT. Both the leaders have indicated that thereafter the Statehood would be restored.

Shah has given the time-frame of 6-8 months after the delimitation process. However, nobody knows when exactly the delimitation process would be completed. This leaves room for political uncertainty as nobody can lawfully dictate either to the Delimitation Commission or the ECI with regard to the timeline of any elections.

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