High octane poll campaign ends peacefully in J&K

Campaigning for the third and final phase of the J&K Assembly elections ended on Sunday peacefully as different political parties used everything in their arsenal to attack rivals and woo the voters.

As the ongoing J&K Assembly election is taking place for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 followed by the bifurcation of the state into two union territories, the high-octane campaign among contestants remained focused on Article 370 and statehood.

Development, healthcare, education, better roads, safe drinking water, cheap electric power and civic amenities formed part of every political party’s poll manifesto, but ultimately the battle was between those who wanted restoration of Article 370 and statehood to J&K.

Interestingly, while Article 370 restoration was at the top of regional parties like the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), statehood was one manifesto promise made by every political party in the fray.

The Congress despite its pre-poll alliance with the NC did not speak about Article 370 either in its poll manifesto or in the speeches made by its top leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sachin Pilot and Priyanka Gandhi.

The BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President J.P. Nadda and all other senior BJP leaders told the voters that union territory status was a temporary one and as stated by the government on the floor of the Parliament, statehood will be returned to J&K.

One logical point made by the BJP's top leadership during the poll campaign was that it is only the government in power at the Centre with the majority in the Parliament that can restore statehood to J&K.

Despite this, the Congress, NC and the PDP did not let go of this issue. There has not been a single speech by NC President Farooq’s Abdullah, his son and NC vice president, Omar Abdullah and the PDP leadership including Mehbooba Mufti, in the entire poll campaign without mentioning the issue of statehood.

The Congress naturally joined the chorus with these parties by talking of statehood. Senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi told voters that the Congress would bring pressure on PM Modi-led government to restore statehood. Rahul Gandhi also said in case the present government does not restore statehood, the INDIA bloc would do it when they come to power.

Other contentious poll issues were the reservations to STs, SCs, OBCs, Paharis, Valmiki Samaj, West Pakistan refugees and Safari Karamcharis. Before the abrogation of Article 370, J&K did not have any reservation for STs, OBCs, Paharis, West Pakistan Refugees, Valmiki Samaj or the Safai Karamcharis.

West Pakistan refugees could vote for the Lok Sabha, but they had no voting rights for the J&K assembly. BJP highlighted these reservations during the poll campaign and its rivals in the NC, Congress and the PDP said they were not against reservations, but said that the BJP was trying to divide voters into communities.

Not that the poll campaign among different parties remained confined to issues only. It was a no-holds-barred war of attrition during which the rivals made verbal assaults on each other challenging nationalism, personal integrity and even the accusation of being rampantly corrupt and sectarian.

The most vitriolic poll campaign against each other was between the main contestants of the NC-Congress pre-poll alliance and the BJP.

Calling the J&K Lt Governor a ‘Raja’, ignoring completely the good work that has happened in the UT during the term of Manoj Sinha as the Lt Governor, accusing Delhi of ‘looting the resources of the UT’and distributing government contracts among non-locals’ remained central to the poll campaign of the Congress, NC and the PDP.

Since Manoj Sinha is not fighting the elections, his constitutional aloofness prevented him throughout the poll campaign from clearing the air on his governance.

The poll campaign ended Sunday evening and so did the cacophony of the contestants against each other.

In a nutshell, every contesting political player and party tried to give a ‘holier than thou’ impression.

The ultimate judge to sift the chaff from the grain is the voter and despite the high moral pedestal taken by the contestants, the verdict remains with the common voter.