The results of the DDC elections have shown that defectors are the outdated commodities in the electoral politics in Jammu & Kashmir even after it’s downgrading from a state to a union territory and the abrogation of it’s special status on August 5 last year. The defeat of DDC candidates sponsored for different contesting parties by former ministers and legislators themselves known for defecting from one party to the other not once but twice and thrice in short spans of few years and few months shows that defectors’ don’t command the popularity they used to command few years back. Interestingly the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir before it’s downgrading to a union territory and abrogation of it’s special on August 5 last year was the only state which had a strong anti-defection law to disallow the pulling down of the elected governments’ through backdoor politics. Since the anti-defection law ceased to exist from the day the J&K reorganization act was implemented on 31st October last year, the professional political defectors known for their key roles in pulling down popular governments during early eighties in erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state are once again trying new methods of defections to create a conducive atmosphere for backdoor politics. Some of the former ministers and legislators whose sponsors failed to win the recent DDC contests as candidates of different political parties are now trying to rope in new independent DDC members to have direct control over the newly constituted district development councils’ (DDCs’). So interestingly the old experienced political defectors are on hunt for the new political defectors to ensure that they run the newly constituted district development councils’ (DDCs’) on their own remote control. Keeping in view the stunning defeat of the sponsors of the old experienced political defectors as the DDC candidates of different political parties the newly elected independent DDC members have to decide themselves that whether they want to be in electoral politics for just one term or a longer period .
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Independent DDC member have to keep in mind that they have made it to DDCs (district development councils) only because of having no track record of defections and corruption charges but they won’t find any electoral space in their constituencies in future if they would be carrying the heavy baggage of defection and corruption charges on their shoulders few years later. The newly elected independent DDC members have to decide it now that whether they want to be the friends of professional political defectors of or the conscience keepers of the future in the fastly changing political scenario of Jammu & Kashmir.
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Newly elected DDC members siding with the parties built on the strength of defections will have surely a short life in electoral politics as people who have voted for them won’t be ready to give them the opportunity of a second term in electoral politics. Independent DDC member have to keep in mind that they have made it to DDCs (district development councils) only because of having no track record of defections and corruption charges but they won’t find any electoral space in their constituencies in future if they would be carrying the heavy baggage of defection and corruption charges on their shoulders few years later. The newly elected independent DDC members have to decide it now that whether they want to be the friends of professional political defectors of or the conscience keepers of the future in the fastly changing political scenario of Jammu & Kashmir.
