‘Safer Valley’ Or A Vote To Restore Article 370 — What’s Behind Historic Turnout In Kashmir
Kashmir Votes: BJP has not fielded any candidate from Kashmir even as the local political parties – NC and PDP – are fighting a bitter contest to take on the Centre over Article 370 and statehood.
Highlights
- Kashmir is voting in the first major election since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019
- Baramulla, once a dreaded militancy hub, recorded over 58% voter turnout, reportedly the highest since 1984
- The BJP has not fielded any candidate from Kashmir for the Lok Sabha election
Srinagar: Kashmir is witnessing historic voter turnouts in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the first major election to be held since Jammu & Kashmir was stripped of its special status through the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, bifurcated (Ladakh separated), and made a Union territory in 2019.
The election also follows a delimitation exercise that gave J&K a seat that includes parts of both Jammu and Kashmir (Anantnag-Rajouri). Until 2019, the Jammu region had two parliamentary constituencies and Kashmir, three. The delimitation also saw some adjustments to the boundaries of the Srinagar and Baramulla seats in Kashmir.
On Monday, when Baramulla (north Kashmir), once a dreaded militancy hub, went to the polls in phase 5 of the election, voters turned out in large numbers. The turnout was recorded at over 58%, reportedly the highest since 1984.
In 2019, before its boundary was redrawn, the turnout was 34.6%.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X, “Compliments to my sisters and brothers of Baramulla for their unbreakable commitment to democratic values. Such active participation is a great trend.”
Compliments to my sisters and brothers of Baramulla for their unbreakable commitment to democratic values. Such active participation is a great trend. https://t.co/388iFHEQd3
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2024
In Srinagar, which voted in the fourth phase, the turnout was 38.49%, against 14.43% in 2019.
Over the years, the low voter turnouts in Kashmir – compared to those of Jammu and Ladakh, which have been known to trump the national average – have been blamed on voter disenchantment and security threats in the restive region.
This election’s historic turnouts have thus been termed a reflection of the improved situation on the ground, with the authorities saying it proves people feel more secure now.
However, voters and local politicians say the only thing the turnouts show is that Kashmiris are looking to take the democratic route to reclaim Article 370.
Top level sources offered a similar assessment of disenchantment on the ground when they told ABP LIVE that the BJP’s “growing unpopularity” is the reason why it didn’t field even one candidate in Kashmir. The BJP, they said, is relying on “proxies” in the region.
The voter turnouts, the sources added, are “not” an endorsement of the government’s move to abrogate Article 370 and 35A. The people of Kashmir, the sources said, are seeking “change” and assembly polls to be held immediately after a new government takes charge in Delhi next month.
Assembly elections for J&K were last held in 2014. The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission to ensure the polls are held by 30 September this year.
‘We Want Article 370 Back’
Speaking to ABP LIVE, Syed Suhail Bukhari, chief spokesperson of the J&K-based Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said these “elections are happening in a peculiar background and that background is of absolute disempowerment and dismembering of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
“Our constitutional rights have been snatched in the form of 370 and 35A abrogation and, of course, a lot of anti-people things have been going on. There are no jobs, the dignity of an ordinary Kashmiri has come into question. The people of J&K have no say in matters of governance,” he added.
The PDP is part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, as is its primary regional rival, the National Conference (NC). Both the NC and the PDP have fielded rival candidates for the Kashmir seats.
According to Bukhari, Kashmir is experiencing bigger turnouts this year because “people are trying to express their dissent to what the BJP government has done to them and are not wanting to resort to legal actions”. “They want to use their democratic right to vote and tell the world what has happened and that we stand against it,” he said.
Zahid, a young voter from Singpora in Pattan, Baramulla district, told ABP LIVE, “We want Article 370 to be restored. Since it was abrogated, there has been financial insecurity, no jobs, people are now taking to drugs and other activities, which is not good for the region.”
BJP Did Not Field A Single Candidate
This is the first time in three decades that the BJP has not fielded any candidate from Kashmir for the Lok Sabha election. In 2019, the BJP had fielded candidates from all the six seats of united Jammu and Kashmir (including Ladakh). While it could not secure a single seat from Kashmir, it won the remaining three.
Bukhari said the BJP had decided against fielding candidates in Kashmir because “they know that people would vote against them and that would make the whole world know what the ground reality is”. “Though there are proxy parties that the BJP is trying to prop up, the reality is summed up by the fact that they are not contesting elections,” he added.
The BJP has said it’s not in the fray in Kashmir as part of a larger strategy to win hearts in the Valley.
During a visit to Jammu in April, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said it’s not the BJP’s aim to “occupy” the Kashmir Valley.
“We don’t occupy places. We win hearts. People in the Valley can vote for anyone. They are under no pressure,” he said. “We will win their hearts by loving them. We are not in any hurry. Lotus will bloom in the Valley in due course of time.”
Shah was in Kashmir last week, where he met the BJP’s Kashmir in-charge Sunil Sharma and held talks with a delegation comprising Sikhs, Paharis, Gujjars, and civil society members, among others.
According to a senior political leader based in Kashmir, who refused to be identified, Shah’s visit was aimed at supporting and aiding those candidates that have the ability to defeat the opposition candidates fielded by the NC and the PDP.
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Voting Taking Place Amid Massive Security Deployment
Despite the government’s claims of normalcy in the Kashmir Valley, voting is taking place amid a heavy security deployment by the Army, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and J&K Police.
Two days before Baramulla voted, two back-to-back militant attacks took place in south Kashmir. BJP worker and former sarpanch Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh was shot dead in Shopian, while a tourist couple was injured in a separate incident in Anantnag.
Talking about the turnouts, Amod Ashok Nagpure, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Baramulla district, told ABP LIVE that violence in the Valley has gone down, and that “the security situation in the entire Kashmir Valley is under control”.
“We are experiencing overwhelming polling and participation for the first time in the past so many years. The credit goes to the overwhelming job that the security forces have done on the field to provide a secure environment to the voters, and that’s why we can see people are participating in voting without any hesitation, without any intimidation,” he added. “There are no threat factors, which used to be the story [until a] few years back.”
Nagpure said police and security forces “have taken considerable steps in order to ensure that people who engage in threatening and intimidation of voters are acted against under preventive laws”.
“There had been continuous area domination and patrolling. We have also ensured that inducement goods like drugs are not circulated, and for that we have taken measures,” he added.
The twin attack over the weekend saw security in Baramulla tightened further. Additional CAPF batches have been called in, and a massive deployment of road opening parties (ROPs) and quick reaction teams (QRTs) can be seen across the length and breadth of Kashmir, including in Srinagar.
Kashmir has about 1.7 million voters. The next round of voting – the last one for J&K – will take place in Phase 6 on May 25, for the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. This constituency was to go for polling on May 7 but the election was reportedly deferred over logistical issues.
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