Author: Hari Om
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 1, 2002
Several leading political commentators
and media personalities have hailed the just concluded Assembly elections
in Jammu and Kashmir as the crowning triumph of Indian democracy. I fully
endorse their view and salute the brave people of the State for their ardent
belief in democracy and their urge for mainstream politics. However, I
do not share their view that the people of Jammu region have repudiated
outright the idea of separate Jammu state for the simple reason that the
election results in Jammu region reveal an altogether different story.
In fact, the results show that a
significant chunk of the Jammu electorate has either voted for those candidates
who stand for separate Jammu State or those who advocate restructuring
of the State's existing unitary politico-administrative set-up on purely
regional lines. Take, for example, the return to the Assembly of as many
as 8 candidates, whose sole election plank was Jammu state.
The victory margin of some of these
candidates has been quite impressive. Mr Harsh Dev Singh, for instance,
defeated the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate by a huge margin of 16,484 votes.
As for the number of votes polled in favour of the pro-separate Jammu state
candidates, it is 2,20,020 out of a total of 17,34,442 votes polled in
Jammu region. In other words, the pro-separate Jammu state candidates obtained
12.67 per cent of the total votes polled in Jammu province. The Panthers
Party has obtained 98,205 votes (5.65 per cent), the JSM 80,714 votes (4.64
per cent) and the independent candidates have got 41,101 votes (2.36 per
cent). It may appear unbelievable but it is a fact that the number of votes
polled in favour of these candidates is more as compared to the number
of votes the BJP has obtained in Jammu region on the slogan of "Regional
Council for Jammu". The BJP got 2,02,854 votes (11.68 per cent).
Everyone is commending the performance
of the Congress which has won 16 of the 37 seats in Jammu and obtained
5,16,624 votes (29.75 per cent) from this region. But no one is referring
to the Congress manifesto in order to put things in proper perspective.
Let me briefly reflect on the Congress manifesto. The manifesto says that
the Congress, if voted to power, shall immediately set up "a Regional Development
Board" for Jammu and implement the 1980 Wazir Commission Report which,
among other things, recommends the creation of 3 more districts in Jammu
region, namely Kishtwar, Reasi and Bahu (Samba).
But this is just one of the more
striking aspects of the strategy the Congress had diligently worked out
and meticulously employed to woo the Jammu electorate. The other is a series
of unambiguous commitments made repeatedly by the JKPCC-I president and
the newly-elected leader of the Congress legislature party Ghulam Nabi
Azad during the election campaign. All these commitments wore designed
to enlist the support of the Jammu electorate in favour of the Congress
candidates. It would be only desirable if 2 of them are referred to here.
One was to the effect that the vote
for the Congress would automatically mean the end of discriminatory policies
and an effective and real say of the people of Jammu region in the State's
political and economic processes. And, the other was to the effect that
the vote for the Congress would mean the beginning of an era in which the
office of the chief minister "shall" be the sole preserve of the people
of Jammu region. Had not the Congress offered its candidates to the people
of Jammu as their true representatives and well- wishers, its fate would
have been similar to that of the BJPs.
All this shows that the pro-separate
Jammu state and pro-State's reorganisation candidates have obtained as
many as 9,39,498 votes, which in percentage terms is 54.10. The story of
Leh district in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh has been no different. Rather,
it is more noteworthy in the sense that both the Assembly seats in this
district have been captured by the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF)
candidates. They have returned to the Assembly unopposed and they enjoy
the backing of all people. The most striking aspect of the whole situation
in Leh is the demise of the Congress, the NC and the BJP and the formation
of the LUTF. To overlook these developments would be to deny the stark
realities as they exist in Jammu and Ladakh regions.
