Few days ago, the Election Commission of India arrived in Srinagar to secure the feedback from all the stakeholders and political dispensations regarding the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The Election Commission of India arrived in the valley following the strict Supreme Court directions to hold the Assembly polls in the Union territory by September 2024.
Officially, not a single political party has spoken against the election process rather insisted upon that the democracy shall be restored in the Union Territory and the people shall be given a chance to elect their representatives. The ECI also had deliberate meetings with the security and intelligence wings and sought their inputs and preparations for the political exercise.
It is to be believed that the intelligence and Security wings have equally shown their willingness to offer the service and ensured violence free elections whenever the ECI decides to hold the process. As Jammu and Kashmir is run through the LG administration since 2018, all political parties seem to be on the same page to have an elected government in place.
As an undeniable fact, no political party irrespective of its resources and size can ever survive for too long without being the part of the electoral system in either way. People may also learn to sustain in absence of political governments; however, it doesn’t augur well for the democratic countries.
Earlier, this year, the ECI with an active support of the security and intelligence agencies managed a violence free Parliamentary poll across Jammu and Kashmir. Unfortunately, the violence is resurfacing over the months and especially the base is shifted to Jammu region where security forces suffered massive damage.
This is likely a reason that may potentially sabotage the proposed polls and ECI may defer it to a few more months if the situation continues to remain disturbing. However, one should understand that the fragile Jammu and Kashmir can never remain peaceful for all the times given its borders with Pakistan.
So whichever the situation may remain in Kashmir, ECI must be directed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold the elections in Jammu and Kashmir and provide whatever support it needs to hold the exercise. Election is the soul to democracy and Jammu Kashmir needs to be infused with this soul for healthy and prosperous democracy for its people like other parts of the country.
