With the entire country and the world keenly watching J&K elections, will the Valley’s messenger of peace emerge from the ballot?
Not only me but every person and political party in Maharashtra was hopeful that Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana would be held before Diwali. This hope stemmed from the fact that elections in both the states were held together in 2009, 2014 and 2019. This time, the Election Commission felt that due to excessive rainfall and floods in some parts of Maharashtra, the situation was not ideal and people should also have a chance to celebrate. Therefore, while Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were announced along with Haryana, Maharashtra was left out.
The Maharashtra Assembly’s term ends on November 26 and that of Haryana on November 3. Whenever this gap is small in different states, the Election Commission usually tries to hold Assembly elections together. This was the case in the last three elections. With the Election Commission’s different approach this time, it is natural that opposition parties will raise questions. They will ask why the last three Assembly elections were held in similar conditions and what is different this time. Festivals are there in Haryana too! The Election Commission is raising the issue of security concerns for holding simultaneous elections in some states, while the Prime Minister talks about one nation, one election. In this background, the opposition parties view all these developments with scepticism.
The most serious accusation from the opposition parties is over the Ladki Bahin scheme. Originally conceived by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the scheme was implemented in Madhya Pradesh by Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the BJP benefitted from it too. While the BJP faced setbacks in the last Lok Sabha elections across the country, it remained formidable in Madhya Pradesh. In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi won 31 out of 48 seats, leaving only 17 for the NDA. The poll results show that Maha Vikas Aghadi led in 154 out of 288 Assembly seats, with Congress leading in 63, Shiv Sena (UBT) in 57 and NCP (Sharad Pawar) in 34. The NDA led in 127 Assembly seats, with BJP leading in 80, Shiv Sena (Shinde) in 37 and Ajit Pawar’s NCP in 6. However, I believe there is a significant difference between Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Voters’ moods and perspectives are quite different, as evidenced by many examples.
Interestingly, in the last three Assembly elections held in Maharashtra and Haryana right after the Lok Sabha elections, the party in power at the Centre benefitted the most. This time, the NDA is in power, but the BJP does not have a majority on its own. So, it’s natural to question what will happen in Maharashtra this time. Nonetheless, the BJP has adopted the Madhya Pradesh model and implemented the Ladki Bahin scheme in Maharashtra as well. The last date for submitting applications is August 31. However, by August 14, 1.62 crore women had registered themselves under this scheme. Of them, 80 lakh women have received Rs 3,000 (Rs 1,500 per month for two months) in their accounts. The opposition parties believe that a slight delay in elections might give the government a chance to transfer funds to all eligible women’s accounts. However, the real question is whether the NDA will truly benefit from this. The Central government was providing free rations to around 80 crore people nationwide, but did the BJP benefit in elections? Thus, the impact of the Ladki Bahin scheme in Maharashtra remains to be seen.
Now, let’s talk about Jammu and Kashmir. There have been no Assembly elections there since 2014. The last elections included 87 seats, with 4 from Ladakh. Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are both Union Territories now. The difference is that Jammu and Kashmir has a Legislative Assembly with 90 seats. Due to delimitation, the Jammu region gained 6 seats while only 1 additional seat was given to the Valley. The governor will nominate five members.
Since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, much has changed in Jammu and Kashmir. The region has seen a new dawn and the speed of development has enraged our neighbour Pakistan, which has stepped up terrorist activities there. While we are selectively targeting terrorists, many of our military officers and soldiers have also been martyred. According to former Jammu and Kashmir DGP S P Vaid, 600 Pakistani commandos have infiltrated into Kashmir. Our Army will deal with them. The real issue is how the people of the Valley handle the terrorists. This is undoubtedly a golden opportunity to bring forth a messenger of peace from the electoral process for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.
