As the elections were flagged off in Jammu and Kashmir by the Election Commission on October 18, the race for the chief ministerial position has heated up.
With the National Conference (NC) in power in the state under incumbent Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the four cornered battle for power in the state has the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the People’s Democratic Party in the fray.
The National Conference came to power in the state after allying with the Congress (which had vacated the seat in 2008), catapulting Omar Abdullah as the Chief Minister in 2009.
NC, currently at an all-time low in popularity owing largely to the alleged mismanagement of the massive relief operations in the aftermath of the floods and CM Omar Abdullah’s frivolous statements suggesting only NC was working on relief operations while other parties were merely working for photo-ops to fuel their campaign for the upcoming elections.
NC also lost face when Separatist leaders in the state met with Pakistani envoys to discuss the issue of allegiance of Kashmir. This move of the Separatists—self anointed representatives of the people of J&K—to supersede the authority of the CM and hold talks put doubts in the minds of the people on his credibility and intent to lead the people of the state.
NC is staunchly against holding the elections at this juncture as they feel the relief operations underway will not go as planned as people’s attention and resources will be diverted for the elections, defeating the purpose of the relief work.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), founded by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in 1999, is touted to win the upcoming elections in the state. The party, currently under the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti, is leading the race.
PDP has had one chief minister in the state and was allied with the Congress till the 2009 elections, post which it chose to work on its own. In its campaign in the state, the party has focused on the day-to-day issues plaguing the locals while being vocal about the want for a clear stand on Article 370 by the Centre.
PDP has also strongly opposed Omar Abdullah over most of his decisions, attributing his loss in popularity to his alleged mismanagement of relief operations in the aftermath of the 2014 floods that ravaged the Valley and his statements that did not show his confidence to successfully fight for the people of the state.
The PDP however has not clarified its stand on alliances, leaving the door open for both BJP and Congress to support them if they win.
The third party in the fray is BJP, which swept the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and came to power at the Centre after 10 years. The BJP, under the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi are banking heavily on the ‘Modi wave’ to make inroads in the state where it is yet to carve a niche’ for itself.
The victory for BJP at the Centre is attributed to party president Amit Shah who is said to be the mastermind of the ‘technologically backed and social media integrated’ strategy that unveiled a new method of fighting elections in India.
This unprecedented strategy of using concepts like 3D rallies, rally vehicles with giant televisions attached to it for campaign messages and special emphasis on social media to target the youth and middle class sections of the society ensured the victory of the party across the nation, winning it an absolute majority to form the government at the Centre.
Working with the same strategy that led to their success at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in the state and sent a strong message to both the people of the state and BJP’s competition.
Modi addressing rallies across the nation projecting a single leader to manifest people’s hopes and aspirations into reality coupled with modern tools like 3D selfie machines installed at rally venues may just be the factor that helps the BJP win in the elections.
Modi emphasised on the need to bring peace in the state that has been marred by cross border terrorism since India’s independence. He also called for a change in leadership which he said had failed to represent the interests of the people.
Modi said that dynastic politics in the state led to the laxity in the leadership’s effort to bring change. Modi’s statements were aimed at the other three political parties in the fray for power in the state.
The fourth party that wants to claim a stake in power in J&K is the Congress.
Congress decided to withdraw support to the Omar Abdullah led NC govt with which it had allied in after the 2009 elections. It has chosen to run independently in the upcoming elections but has still not closed the door on a post-poll alliance with the PDP.
The Congress lost its position at the Centre after the United Progressive Alliance faced its largest defeat till date and in states which were their strongholds.
Congress’ attempts to come to power in the state seem to be a desperate attempt after an absolute rout in the rest of the nation. This was made clear when Congress President Sonia Gandhi addressed a rally in the Valley where she lashed out at BJP and took pot-shots at some of the leaders in the cabinet who came to power post the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
As the stage is set for the first phase of polling to begin in J&K on Tuesday, the four cornered fight has heated up with all competitors taking jabs at the other yet keeping the scope for alliance open to come to power.
It now has to be seen whether old allies will come back together or new friendships will be forged to come to power in the state.
The game is on!
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