A stable security environment established by the Central Government during last five years has finally set the field for the launch of new era for electoral politics in Jammu & Kashmir.
The high turnout in the first phase of assembly elections the first after Article 370 abrogation in Jammu & Kashmir is undoubtedly a befitting reply to the critics who were alleging democratic deficit in Jammu & Kashmir for more than last three years randomly. This election is different in Jammu & Kashmir in many ways as it has brought on the electoral arena some new political actors who were denied political space on the electoral landscape of Jammu & Kashmir for about three decades. New political actors emerging on the electoral landscape mostly include independents and the dissidents of various political parties denied mandates for one or the other reason. The surge in the no of poll contestants is in itself a marked shifted in the electoral politics of Jammu & Kashmir. The emergence of new political actors on electoral landscape of Jammu & Kashmir is largely attributed to a conducive security environment which prevails after decades of unrest both in Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division. A stable security environment established by the Central Government during last five years has finally set the field for the launch of new era for electoral politics in Jammu & Kashmir. The high turnout in the first phase of assembly elections after the record turnout in recently held Lok Sabha elections is undoubtedly an unprecedented shift in electoral politics in Jammu & Kashmir as the actors of boycott politics who dominated the electoral scene of Jammu & Kashmir for about three decades are now nowhere visible on ground in either Kashmir Valley or Jammu division.
“A reduced stability in security situation could be a cause for democratic deficit and an increasing stability in security situation reduces the democratic deficit everywhere in the world and same holds good for Jammu & Kashmir. While the conduct of incident free first phase of assembly elections is a good beginning for the completion of the three phase assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir, the conduct of two more phases would be testing time for both the Election Commission in Jammu & Kashmir .”
The appeals of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Jammu & Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to the people of Jammu & Kashmir to throng polling stations in large numbers have undoubtedly got an overwhelming response as is quite evident from the huge surge in turn out of the just concluded very first phase of assembly elections. The surge in turn out noticed in the very first phase of assembly elections as such shows that strength of democracy lies in a stable security scenario. As such it can be said that a reduced stability in security situation could be a cause for democratic deficit and an increasing stability in security situation reduces the democratic deficit everywhere in the world and same holds good for Jammu & Kashmir. While the conduct of incident free first phase of assembly elections is a good beginning for the completion of the three phase assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir, the conduct of two more phases would be testing time for both the Election Commission in Jammu & Kashmir
