Omkar Dattatray
It is so good and welcome step that after a prolonged delay & after a long wait of over six years, the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir will soon get their democratic right to elect their representatives to the legislative assembly. It is no ordinary thing given the people’s desire to exercise their democratic right of adult franchise to elect the members of the legislative assembly so that ultimately a new democratic ,people’s and popular government is constituted which will be responsive to the needs ,concerns ,issues and problems of the people .In fact the democratic and people’s government is definitely better than the central rule ,presidential rule or the governors rule .The LG government is merely a stop gap arrangement ,but as the ill luck had to the people of Jammu & Kashmir that the governors rule was allowed by the Modi government to continue for more than five years .It led to the alienation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and also resulted in no connect between the people and LG administration and it is not good for the people and the democracy .Now the state assembly polls will be held soon to give the alienated people the right to exercise their right to vote to chose their representatives to man the legislative assembly so that at the end of the day a democratic and popular government is in place to resolve the issues and problems of the people so that the people of the UT will feel some sort of relief .There is a big trust deficit between the people of the union territory and the LG’s administration as the people do not generally have trust upon the governors administration with the result people feel uneasy and displeasure and this trust deficit will come to an end when the people will chose and elect the government of their choice .The elected government will be responsive to the needs and problems of the people and it will be a caring government which will function in a responsive and transparent manner in the interest of the people and it will further the goals of democracy and the people will no longer find themselves orphaned and this will be the big achievement of the people as the government framed will care for the rights of the people unlike the LG government in which there is a big wedge and gap between the government and the people .The Modi government is committed to restore the democratic rights of the people of J& K thereby giving them the right to chose and elect their representatives who will form the popular and democratic government which will function in the interest of the people and with the framing of the J& K government which will be people’s own government will remove the trust deficit between the governors administration and the people .The popular government thus elected will be a caring ,responsive and transparent government which will remove not only trust deficit but will also bid a goodbye to peoples alienation so that the people will feel a sense of belongingness and it will be in the interest of the people and the government so formed will address the issues and problems of the people and it will result in the triumph of the democracy in real sense .Democracy is the most popular form of government with more than half of the nations in the world being democracies .Democracy in real sense of the word and practice is paused because of the imposition of governors rule or the rule by the LG which is the case of Jammu and Kashmir .The LG’s dispensation is a temporary arrangement but it is unfortunate that this transitory arrangement was allowed to continue for more than six years and it amounts to assault on the democracy and democratic rights of the people. Thank God ,the Apex Court of the country has come to the rescue of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and has directed the centre government and the Election Commission to hold the assembly elections by the 30th September and thus the centre government and the ECI has made it crystal clear that the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held soon to give the people the democratic right to elect their representatives to legislative assembly who will finally elect the popular and people’s government which will remove tears from the eyes of the alienated people and balm their wounds which the people experienced because of the lack luster attitude and adhoc approach of the LG administration .There was absence of the political activity in Jammu and Kashmir and now with the positive message of the ECI and the Modi government ,the political activities and the political process is not only starting but is gaining momentum day by day as the date of the polls will be announced by the election commission .There is a big political vacuum in J&K which is not good for the people and our democracy .The political vacuum impinges the democracy and it creates a big gap between the governors administration and the people .The political vacuum in the UT can be bridged by the initiation of political activities and the conduct of much awaited assembly elections .Now very positive and encouraging signs are coming from the ECI and Modi government that the assembly polls will be conducted soon to give the people a chance to chose their own government .So now there is no confusion and uncertainty about holding of the long overdue assembly polls in J&K .Uncertainty of holding assembly polls has come to end as the BJP has initiated pre election process and is making every efforts to win 50 assembly seats in the elections and it has geared political activity in the UT .The national level political party Congress has also activated its cadres to gear up and be ready to jump in the assembly elections when held .Similarly the regional parties which have much influence in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir have also geared for facing and participating in the assembly elections which will likely be held before 30the September 2024.So the people of Jammu and Kashmir will now get the best opportunity to cast their precious vote for electing their representatives who will then constitute the democratic and popular government in Jammu and Kashmir after the gap of more than six long years. .The people and the political parties of J&K are pleased and are welcoming the declaration of the ECI to hold the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir to empower the people politically .All uncertainty and speculation about holding the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir has ended as the chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar has said that the commission and its members are encouraged and upbeat after the people of J&K had participate in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.CEC also said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve the government of their own which will care for the people there and so assembly polls will be held soon to arm the people politically so that they will chose their representatives who will form the government which will be responsive to the needs and issues of the people and will care for them .To conclude it can be safely said that the much overdue assembly polls will be soon held in Jammu and Kashmir so that people’s government is in place soon which will take care of the needs ,issues and concerns of the people and remove their alienation.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist)