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By David Devadas
Conversion in Kashmir over the past few days have
tended to swerve willy-nilly towards the Assembly elections. Distrust
seems to vie with discontent in most Kashmiri minds as people watch the
low-key campaign and hear promise of free and fair elections. Many speak
of disillusionment with the incumbent party but their resentful talk is
peppered with ennui regarding a free poll. Opinion makers and ordinary
people alike ask whether rigging is possible with voting machines. The
bottom line among many in Srinagar is that the possibilities that voting
opens up are outweighed by the factors that say; “Don’t bother to
vote.” The fear of militants’ retribution is only one of these. More
striking is the lack of a credible alternative - and or course the
possibility of rigging. People say, for instance, that ruling party
workers are handling the issue of voters’ identity cards.
The important thing, though, is the evident
interest, even ferment - and not very far below the surface. Indeed, an
amazing degree of enthusiasm is visible along the northern periphery of
the Valley - ironically, the portion from and to which militants crossed
the Line of Control over these past 15 years. More significant in the
electoral context is the fact that a significant chunk of the population
in this arc does not speak Kashmiri. Large numbers of them are Paharis,
Gujjars and Backerwals.
Most important, this arc includes the home district
of Abdul Ghani Lone, who was slain on May 21. Many of the thousands who
accompany the independent candidates that have taken on the ruling
National Conference in several constituencies here have been sporting
T-shirts emblazoned with his portrait. A very senior leader of Lone’s
party told me last week that the people are determined to give his
assassins a fitting reply by coming out to vote. Many of those who were
close to him believe he was killed because of fear.
Even though Lone’s party is ostensibly not
contesting, a senior leader reveals that its supporters have been signaled
to vote for various independent candidates, or even candidates of other
anti-National Conference parties. The party’s new leaders are said to
have drawn up a list of 15 candidates whom they would like to see
victorious.
There is enthusiasm in Budgam in central Kashmir
too, from where the ruling National Conference has fielded the young son
of the assassinated Congress leader, Agha Mehdi Hassan. The Agha family
commands a feudal religio-political following among the area’s Shias and
the boy’s candidature is therefore sure to bring out a large number of
voters. Again anger at an assassination by militants will be a key factor.
The flip side of the encouraging signs of a desire
for peace and for movement towards a lasting settlement is that people are
far more watchful of how elections are being conducted than they were six
years ago. The authorities face some tough decisions. For example,
Rohullah, the son of Agha Mehdi in Budgam, is said to be much younger than
the 25 years prescribed as the minimum age for an MLA. His opponents
charge that the boy is just 20. The certificate he has submitted to the
Returning officer shows him to be 26.
The government and the Election Commission would be
ill-advised to collude in fraud, in the hope of a substantial turnout. The
cost could be a major dent in the general impression about the fairness of
the entire process. In the long term, the common people’s belief in the
fairness of the authorities is an essential requisite for the Valley to
return to peace.
(Source:
The Tribune)
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