Political parties across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday hailed the Election Commission's announcement of three-phase Assembly elections, beginning September 18, as marking a significant step towards “restoring democracy” in the region after six years of Central rule. Former J&K chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah said since 1987, this is perhaps the first time that elections will be wrapped up this quickly in J&K. “Der aaye durust aaye (Better late than never). On behalf of the National Conference I can say that we have been preparing for this for a while and we will begin working on the ground immediately.” He said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has emphasised conducting “free and fair” polls. “In the last couple of years, those parties who have resisted the BJP’s political agenda have been subjected to a withdrawal of security. Now, with the elections being announced, the EC should issue orders to restore security for non-BJP-aligned political parties.” On the slew of transfer orders issued by the L-G administration over the last 24 hours, Omar said that the party is writing to the EC to review it. Regarding his own candidature, the NC vice-president said he has expressed his view on not contesting Assembly elections with J&K as a UT. However, he said, “There is immense pressure from the party (to contest). Over the next few days we will hold discussions and decide.” He said a key concern in the NC is that if he doesn’t contest the polls, party president Farooq Abdullah “will be forced to contest in his advanced age”. NC chief Farooq Abdullah, meanwhile, announced on Friday that he will lead the party in the Assembly elections. He told PTI that he will contest the elections, as his son, Omar, has opted to “refrain from participating until J&K's statehood is restored”. PDP youth president Waheed ur Rehman Para said while elections are a welcome move, “We are seeking to fight for self-preservation. It doesn’t change anything about what happened on August 5. However, this restores some agency back to the people. This is an important time to take back control for all of us.” The J&K BJP also expressed gratitude to the EC for announcing the Assembly election dates. “This marks a significant step towards the restoration of democratic rights and elected representation for the people of J&K,” the party said in a statement. Senior J&K Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the people have waited 10 years for the Assembly elections and hoped that they would participate in the exercise in large numbers. Welcoming the announcement, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The Supreme Court had set a deadline for the conduct of elections, and we had demanded that elections must be held at the earliest to secure constitutional rights and put a full stop to this mechanism of being 'ruled by bureaucracy'.” He said, “Modi government wants to control the revived state administration of Jammu & Kashmir, therefore, in July, they gave more powers to the L-G by amending the Rules under Section 55 of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019.” “Now, bureaucrats have also been suddenly shuffled, hours before the announcement of the polls,” Kharge said. He also said in the past decade, the Modi government “has performed many electoral experiments in Jammu and Kashmir, but the people have time and again rejected BJP's undemocratic tactics trampling upon their Constitutional rights”. “Ladakh, which had 4 Assembly seats in the original Jammu and Kashmir legislature, will now be without any directly elected MLA. People of Jammu & Kashmir are yearning for change. They are looking towards the Congress and its allies to usher in justice. Congress workers must reach out to the people and work hard to ensure our victory in the state,” he said. Congress MP and general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh said for the past five years the Congress has been consistently demanding that full statehood be restored to J&K and Assembly elections be conducted. “J&K still awaits full statehood. Recent moves by the Union Govt have only added to the powers of the LG there, making a mockery of the powers of a duly elected state government,” he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi posted on X, “Thanks to Supreme Court intervention, democracy will be restored in Jammu and Kashmir. However the statehood still remains and peace is elusive as cited by ECI.” Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman and former J&K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad welcomed the announcement to hold elections in J&K. “This is the first time after Independence that elections are happening after 10 years… The whole country, media, and more than the media and leaders, the voters of J&K, irrespective of whether they are from Jammu or Kashmir province, were waiting for elections to the Assembly,” he said in New Delhi. “In the last few months, terror has come back and has impacted Jammu more. We hope that security arrangements for voters and leaders will be there,” he said. BSP president Mayawati also welcomed the announcement. “.After a long wait, the announcement of the date for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir today is welcome. Political and democratic activities can take root there according to the Constitution. BSP will fight this election alone,” she posted on X.
