The Union minister of law and justice has described the results of the District Development Council elections in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir as a ‘historic’ triumph for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP, at first glance, seems to have performed well. It has emerged as the single largest party winning over 70 seats, sweeping southern Jammu and even pocketing three seats in the Valley. But the minister, as is the wont of this dispensation, has spotted the wrong winner. For it is the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration — its constituents include the National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and others — that has emerged as the real winner. The PAGD, which is seeking to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood that the BJP took away, is in a position to dominate not only the district boards in Kashmir but — this is significant — quite a few in Jammu if the Congress decides to lend a helping hand. The alliance has made a mark in north Jammu, and a closer look would reveal that some of its smaller members — the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference are examples — have had the best strike rates among the contestants. Contrastingly, the BJP, which has ceded some strongholds in Jammu and polled a little over three per cent of votes in Kashmir, clocked a strike rate of 32.6 per cent although it fought the highest number of seats. The election results have not been disputed, but this should not deflect attention from the formidable hurdles that the PAGD had to confront. There was the all-too-familiar vilification: the Union home minister described the alliance as a ‘gang’, insinuating its sympathy for separatists; PAGD candidates were also prevented from campaigning freely on specious grounds. The people have now replied unambiguously against this orchestrated intimidation.
Local elections are usually benign affairs. But what made the DDC elections singular was that this was the first election that took place since the controversial abrogation of Article 370. There is thus reason to view the outcome as an expression of the people’s opinions on the Centre’s interventions. The message should be chastening for the BJP. However, another concern seems to have escaped public scrutiny. With the creation of an additional layer of governance — the DDCs are not statutory bodies since their genesis lies in an executive fiat — what would be the prospect of the state assembly, if there is one, in the future? Parallel institutions need not be a sign of the triumph of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.