Mint Quick Edit | Jammu and Kashmir elections: A return of people’s rule
About six years after Jammu and Kashmir last had a government, elections are set to restore the power to govern back to its people. On Friday, the Election Commission announced the poll schedule to be held in three phases from 18 September to 1 October.
These are welcome as they will help re-establish democratic processes in the erstwhile state which was turned into a Union territory in 2019 on the abrogation of Article 370. J&K has been without an elected government since 2018 when the withdrawal of support by the Bharatiya Janata Party led to the fall of the coalition government it had with the People’s Democratic Party.
Central rule has allowed the administration to better control violence and speed up development work. But it has also led people to get restive about the scaling back of democratic rights.
Holding elections will temper resentment on that count. Thankfully, with the region mostly peaceful—barring a few recent incidents of violence—conditions are favourable for the exercise.
The high voter turnout in the Lok Sabha polls showed people’s eagerness to re-establish democratic rule. Elections are the best way to do so.
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