With Chief Electoral Officer Shaleen Kabra announcing four phase poll schedule for municipal elections to be followed by a similar announcement for panchayat elections in November later the new Governor Satya Pall Malik has choosen to go against the whims and wishes of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah heading National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti heading Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who would often challenge the representative character of the separatist and still continue to mock at separatists for non participation in elections. Today the Governor Satya Pal Malik obviously at the whims and wishes of the BJP commanding and controlling the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denied any recognition to the advices of Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who together command the support of 43 MLAs even today which means that they form a government if they come together even this time. Above all the governor’s decision to go against the advice of Abdullahs’ and Mufti in deciding the timing for conduct of municipal and panchayat elections obviously at the whims and wishes of the Modi government at the centre means that the top helmsmen both in the state and the centre have flatly denied recognition to the representative character of both National Conference and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in a surcharged political atmosphere and a disturbing security scenario in the state.
Disrespect to Abdullahs’ and Muftis’ despite Farooq Abdullah’s shouting “ Bharat Mata Ki Jai” at the BJP conclave called for tributing former Prime Minister Attal Bihari Vajpayee and PDP’s Muzaffar Baig crying “Narendra Modi is God’s choice” at the same conclaves shows that views of three former Chief Ministers commanding the support of 43 MLAs even today don’t deter helmsmen in the central and the state governments’ from taking any decision against the interests and wishes of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Helpless Abdullahs’ and Muftis’ who used to mock at the separatists for non participation in election would have to now see their own people cracking jokes on their helplessness over their role in deciding the timing of municipal and panchayat elections in the state.
So the decision of conducting municipal and panchayat elections in Jammu & Kashmir is not just an issue of political and security conduciveness in the state but a matter of recognition to the views of two largest regional political parties National Conference (NC) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) headed by Abdullahs’ and Muftis’. Disrespect to Abdullahs’ and Muftis’ despite Farooq Abdullah’s shouting “ Bharat Mata Ki Jai” at the BJP conclave called for tributing former Prime Minister Attal Bihari Vajpayee and PDP’s Muzaffar Baig crying “Narendra Modi is God’s choice” at the same conclaves shows that views of three former Chief Ministers commanding the support of 43 MLAs even today don’t deter helmsmen in the central and the state governments’ from taking any decision against the interests and wishes of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Helpless Abdullahs’ and Muftis’ who used to mock at the separatists for non participation in election would have to now see their own people cracking jokes on their helplessness over their role in deciding the timing of municipal and panchayat elections in the state.