KK Usman

The Orient News Research Section

The month of December is witnessing the most farce elections in the Himalayan state of occupied Jammu and Kashmir to hood wink in to the world eyes. The BJP led government is conducting local elections in 20 districts of the state to elect 280 members for the District Development Councils which will be held in eight phases. Under high alert people and freezing cold, and the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of Kashmiris seized the opportunity to vote against the BJP in Indian-occupied Kashmir by polling in the first of eight-phase polls to elect members of District Development Councils.

This is the first major electoral exercise is being taken place in the area since the removal of Article 370 and Article 35A and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir state into two federal union territories on August 5, 2019. The decision to strip the region of the special status and split it into two federally-administered territories have deprived the special status of Kashmir region which allowed it to make its own rules about permanent residency, property ownership and fundamental rights.

After that Indian government imposed sweeping restrictions, ranging from curfews to blackouts the move - accompanied by a severe communication, internet blockade, and the detention of MPs, activists, journalists and community leaders - was met with protests and global criticism. It was also seen as part of the BJP's right-wing agenda - the party's divisive rhetoric and politics have long been accused of targeting the country's Muslims the enacted new laws in measures triggered widespread anger and economic ruin.

This mix of defiance, frustration and resignation is all too familiar in the Muslim-majority valley. It has long had a tense relationship with India - successive governments have failed to suppress the legitimate freedom struggle in the region without giving the Indian army powers that have led to decades-worth of allegations of human rights abuses.

Nearly six million voters across the disputed region’s 20 districts are eligible to elect 280 members of District Development Councils in a staggered eight-phase process that started on Saturday and ends on December 19 and the counting will be held after three days of the elections. The Himalayan region has been under a heavy security blanket since the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government imposed direct rule in August 2019.  It is certain that this is a lame excuse by India to show normalcy in the state and a symbolic exercise in an area that carries deep distrust for India, ostensibly to erase the impression of it being a disturbed region. Reportedly 1000 candidates from various political parties, including the BJP, are participating in the elections. India has deployed thousands of troops in addition to the more than half million forces already stationed in Kashmir, to ensure smooth conduct of elections, fearing the attacks from freedom fighters.

Some 5.76 million people are registered to vote but Kashmiris have shown little enthusiasm compared to previous elections. The most significant part of the ongoing election is that the region’s pro-India parties are severely opposing the Modi’s government after it revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status in August last year, annulled its separate constitution, split the area into two federal territories – Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir – and removed inherited protections on land and jobs.

For the first time, some seven opposition parties have allied to contest the polls together. And their goal is to fight to restore Kashmir's special status. Kashmir’s main political parties have announced a grand alliance to seek a peaceful restoration of its autonomy days after India released the last key Kashmiri political leader from a lengthy detention including Mehbooba Mufti were among scores of political leaders held under house arrest for months after the clampdown.

The parties are united in contesting the elections against the BJP and its allies in one of the most militarized regions in the world. The parties have vowed to fight for the restoration of the special status of the region under a unified banner of the People’s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration.

The two past political rivals the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party have formed an alliance namely as PAGD, to contest the election with the purpose of restoration of Kashmir’s special status. Both these parties have a pro-India posture in the past. with the eroding of the support of these major political parties in Occupied Kashmir India have lost its total credibility. The Kashmir’s parties have formed the alliance not to leave the open space for the BJP, reiterating “If we stay away from it then those elements will occupy this space which will be detrimental to the interests of Jammu and Kashmir. It’s a political fight now for us. It’s not that the BJP will last forever in rule and we will not resist.

It is an open secret that everything is governed by Delhi and it is regulating and managing the affairs of the region. The BJP seems to have its own long-term Programme for changing the nature of politics in Kashmir. By conducting such tactics in form of local District Development Councils elections under the tight control of the security forces, the freedom struggle cannot be cow down and finished. According to independent Observers that limited numbers of people are participating in the elections amid coronavirus fears and security reasons to elect members of their local councils. There are two pronged strategies of the current Indian government the first one is that through these farce local bodies elections it intends to show the international community that life is back to normal here. Secondly the Indian government want to install Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led candidates in the occupied Kashmir to flash out the other political parties out of the arena to pursue and implement its own extremist polices against the will and aspirations of the people of this Himalayan state. The Kashmir dispute was required to be resolved in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter and the relevant UN resolutions. It is well advised for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to refrain from such things because history is evident of the fact that nobody cannot keep such a large number of people and area without the consent and will of the local people.