The government of India is treading a very risky path by not conducting the election in Jammu and Kashmir. Four years after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, the promised restoration of electoral democracy continues to elude the trouble-torn region. Though the militant violence and incidents of stone-pelting have come down significantly since the revocation of the statehood on August 5, 2019, a sense of restlessness is growing over the inordinate delay in holding the assembly elections. As per the road map unveiled by the NDA government in parliament soon after scrapping Article 370, the assembly polls are likely to pave the way for the restoration of statehood – a longstanding demand by local residents and the political parties. Even in Ladakh, there is a growing realization that direct rule from Delhi is not a replacement for democratic local government.
The gains from the nullification of Article 370 cannot fully materialize unless Kashmiris are made stakeholders in their own development. And that can only happen if J&K is able to elect its own politicians to manage its affairs. Once the grassroots democracy is strengthened and J&K gets an elected government, development projects can take off at a great speed. While bifurcating the state into two union territories, the centre had promised corruption-free governance, strong grassroots democracy, employment opportunities for the local youth and massive development package. For the political parties, however, restoration of the special status remains the key issue. The Supreme Court is hearing the legal and constitutional dimensions of the revocation of Article 370 but the case should not be cited as a reason to further delay the conduct of assembly elections. J&K has been without elected representatives for five years.