Updated: November 22, 2020 4:36:50 pm
Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah speak to journalists after their meeting on Gupkar’s statement on Thursday, October 15, 2020 (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
From the The Congress party started talks with the Popular Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) for November-December District Development Council (DDC) Elections, the BJP has been on a tirade against the leaders of what it calls the “Gupkar Gang”.
The party held two press conferences in a single day, followed by a tirade by Union Interior Minister Amit Shah on Twitter, after which nearly all of the high-ranking BJP leaders, including senior ministers, they set out to attack the leaders of the National Conference (NC). , Popular Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress.
Why does the Gupkar alliance anger and irritate the BJP?
The answer lies in the ruling party’s plans for Jammu and Kashmir, which forked into two Union Territories (UT) after its special status under section 370 was repealed in August last year.
How did BJP conceive J&K after the repeal of Article 370?
BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Interior Minister Amit Shah, the main architect of the August 2019 constitutional changes, had spoken about the electoral process in the two TUs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, which the BJP said it would complete the process. of “normalization” of the region.
In its Independence Day speech earlier this year, Prime Minister Modi had said “there will be elections” as soon as the delimitation process is completed, so that J&K will have its own government to carry out development work with “renewed vigor”.
In the BJP’s calculation, an electoral process with the participation of a considerable part of the population would put the stamp of democratic approval on the revocation of the special status.
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Farooq Abdullah appointed president of the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar’s declaration, Mehbooba Mufti as a deputy. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
“It would be seen as a huge success for both Modi and Shah. No one from inside or outside the country could question these events anymore, ”said a senior BJP leader who has been involved in party affairs in the former state.
In order to claim that “normalization” has been achieved, the BJP wants to demonstrate “democratization on three levels”. In fact, when the Cabinet of the Union approved the adoption of the Panchayati Raj Law of Jammu and KashmirFrom 1989, on October 21 this year, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that he would “help establish the three levels of grassroots democracy in Jammu and Kashmir, as in other parts of the country.”
How did the plan to hold the DDC elections come about?
Last month, when he cleared the Fourth Order of Reorganization (Adaptation of State Laws) of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (Adaptation of State Laws), 2020, to notify amendments to the Panchayati Raj Act of Jammu and Kashmir, 1989, in order to hold direct elections for the DDC, the government said it was a movement to bring grassroots democracy.
An election exercise that gives the majority of the population the opportunity to vote would be a mini-election to the Assembly. The reluctance of the former state parties to participate in the process had made the BJP confident that the winners of the elections could become representatives of the party or the central government. (The anti-desertion law does not apply to winning candidates and the BJP always has the option to tie them down.) The party’s assessment has been that newly elected representatives would gradually make established party leaders irrelevant.
An election exercise that gives the majority of the population the opportunity to vote would be a mini-election to the Assembly, and the non-participation of the political parties and leaders of the old state would significantly erode its relevance.
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Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
Elections to the panchayat and blocs have already been held without the participation of regional parties. Once constituted, the DDCs will have jurisdiction over the districts, in addition to the portions that are part of a municipality or municipal corporation.
“Once the DDC elections are over, all J&K citizens would have had the opportunity to participate in the electoral process,” said a BJP leader.
Party sources said that this measure was not known to many of those who participated in the process from the beginning. According to them, the decision to hold direct elections for the DDCs was taken by Shah with the approval of the Prime Minister.
These sources also said that it was the prime minister who chose former Union minister Manoj Sinha, who has a reputation for being able to implement plans without disturbing many, to oversee the process.
What is the long-term political calculus of the BJP?
Elections will take place at J&K in eight phases from November 28 to December 22. Each district is divided into 14 territorial districts to elect the president and vice president of the Council.
“This is a direct election that gives a majority of J&K citizens the opportunity to vote. The Presidents will be equivalent to the MLA. The Center will provide funding directly to these elected representatives and they will become the go-to people for everything in the district, gradually making existing local leadership irrelevant, ”said the BJP leader.
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Congressional Leader Ghulam Nabi Azad with National Conference Leader Dr. Farooq Abdullah in November. (ANI photo)
This was expected, the senior leader said, to weaken the clamor for the Assembly elections. “The BJP can say that this electoral process has reinforced our decisions made by the state. So, an election to the Assembly proposed for the UT can wait, ”he said. 📣 Click to follow Express Explained on Telegram
So what went wrong?
The BJP, which does not have a solid base of support in Kashmir, has its eyes on the smaller parties and the “vulnerable” candidates of the state parties. BJP leaders said the party, as well as “people on behalf of the party,” are in contact with many who have submitted nominations to contest the DDC elections. Since these elections are not contested for party symbols, the provisions of the law against desertion are not relevant.
The BJP has also kept its options open on the Apni Party of Jammu and Kashmir led by Altaf Bukhari, which has put forward candidates. “Bukhari, being an entrepreneur has the resources to ensure the victory of some of his candidates. The BJP has left open the option to join it after the electoral process, ”said a party source. Bukhari publicly mocked the PAGD’s decision to contest.
But the unexpected decision of the Gupkar alliance to present candidates has introduced a new element in the BJP’s calculations. In addition to the two main regional parties, the National Conference (NC) and the PDP, the alliance has CPI, CPM and four other smaller parties as constituents.
“They are fighting together and if Congress joins them as well, the alliance will definitely take a lot of seats and make things difficult for the BJP post-election,” the BJP source said. The party’s hope of having a “new leadership” in Kashmir could be dashed if the PAGD wins a large number of seats.
Why has Congress become the target of the BJP leaders?
the attacks on Congress For leader after leader in the BJP he has two goals.
One, confuse congressional leaders and make them insecure to join state parties.
Two, the repeated questioning of the nationalist credentials of Congress has been at the top of the party’s agenda for a long time.
It is part of the broader plan of the BJP at the national level: to repeat the accusations of anti-nationality against the Congress, its leaders and the leaders of the parties that are friends, with the aim of discrediting the Opposition before the Assembly. elections next year.
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