The first phase of polling in the sensitive union territory of Jammu & Kashmir went off peacefully. The union territory of Jammu & Kashmir is voting in three phases. In the first phase, 16 constituencies in the Kashmir Valley and eight in Jammu voted. These are the first assembly elections in J&K in a decade and the first after the abrogation of Article 370 that once defined the erstwhile state’s relations with the Indian union. The peaceful conduct of the first phase has given hope to the people. The J&K election is being closely watched not only in India but across the world.
Indian democracy is being tested. When the BJP government at the Centre decided to abrogate Article 370, it hurt the people of Kashmir Valley and initially anti-India sentiment was high. But over the years people seem to have accepted the reality and have moved on from it. The recent general elections indicated the yearning for electoral democracy, with a 58.46% turnout. The BJP government had promised to conduct the election and also restore statehood. The conduct of elections is a first step. The people are actively participating with the hope that it helps to restore statehood. Therefore the next natural step should be to restore statehood and give people of J&K their rightful due.