Assembly polls getting delayed could prove to be blessing in disguise for political parties

Afaq Bhat
Srinagar, Dec 28: After the completion of the District Development Council (DDC) elections many people were hoping that the assembly polls too will be held in Jammu and Kashmir but it looks unlikely.
According to the media reports the delimitation process will at least take 10 more months to get completed. “The Centre has already tested the waters by holding the DDC polls in the newly carved out union territory. But assembly elections won’t be held till the constituencies are redrawn,” said an analyst.
He said, “The successful conduct of the DDC polls has revived the stalled political process in Jammu and Kashmir and has brought new combinations to fore. Lot of things are likely to change before the assembly polls are held in J&K,” a politician told Precious Kashmir.
He said, “Assembly elections getting delayed will provide more time to the political parties in Kashmir to regain their foothold, at present there is lot of confusion prevalent everywhere.”
An analyst said, “If the situation improves there is every possibility about the demand for restoration of J&K’s statehood gaining momentum.”
It may be recalled that when the Centre announced its decision to abrogate J&K’s special status and bifurcated it into two union territories on August 5, 2019, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the floor of the house announced that J&K’s statehood would be restored as soon as the situation returns to normal. “During the past one and a half year many developments have taken place and it seems that the political parties have accepted that their fight to get everything back is long driven battle and it may not be that easy to get J&K’s special status back. Had it been possible then these parties would not have contested the DDC elections,” the analyst said.
“Political parties have realized that moving on is the best possible way out till the J&K’s statehood is restored. At present the only demand which the Centre may look into in future is returning J&K’s statehood. Other demands may not be fulfilled so easily,” he added.
An observer said, “Assembly elections getting delayed will help the political parties to reach out to the people again and help them in restoring their credibility. Results of the DDC elections have encouraged the Kashmir based parties to move on. The PAGD winning nearly 110 DDC seats is an indication that if these parties work hard and stick to a common platform they can emerge as a force whenever the assembly elections are held. The DDC elections have provided the political parties an opportunity to regroup and make a comeback.”