Futile poll arrangement exercise

The incumbent Mehbooba led PDP-BJP government is all set to ink yet another futile poll arrangement exercise as majority of the mainstream political parties have advised the government to take into consideration the current security scenario before taking any decision on holding proposed panchayat elections in the state. Keeping in view the experiences of a failed election exercise that forced the election commission to countermand the bye poll for the South Kashmir parliamentary constituency last year, the government should not have announced the decision of holding panchayat elections without consulting the mainstream opposition parties. Had the government taken into confidence the mainstream opposition parties before announcing plans of holding panchayat elections in the state , it would not have faced the criticism either from the mainstream opposition parties or the critics. Strangely the government has consulted opposition only after undertaking massive exercises for the election training of the employees and the central government’s approval for the deployment paramilitaries for poll duty in the state. If the government would have consulted the opposition after thorough review of the security situation, neither the mainstream political parties nor the critics would try to prick holes in the government’s plans on holding panchayat elections in the state. By taking the decision of holding panchayat elections and fast tracking the poll arrangement process without taking the mainstream opposition into confidence the government has invited criticism and condemn from all quarters. Since involvement of government employees with the poll arrangement process hampers both the development process and as well as the working of most of the government departments, the condemnation of the opposition and criticism of the critics can’t be questioned by people at the helm.
True it is that elections at the grass roots strengthen the very foundation of democracy in any part of the world but equally true is the fact that willingness of the electorate to participate in the elections provides legitimacy to the election exercise. By all standards of understandabilities holding an election is not as important as is the legitimacy of the election for which the participation of the people in the elections is a detrimental factor. The government has neither taken into consideration the prevailing security situation in Kashmir valley nor the willingness of the people to participate in panchayat polls before announcing the decision of holding this massive election exercise in the state. Surprisingly government despite having the knowledge about the worsening law and order situation in Kashmir took the extremely controversial decision of holding panchayat elections in the state. Announcing the decision of holding proposed panchayat elections before reaching out to the mainstream political parties for consultations over the issues speaks volumes about the administrative wisdom of the government and particularly of the minister holding the charge of rural development and panchayat raj portfolios.