Kashmir Votes ‘No’ to the BJP’s Policies

Maryum Tamoor

2024 has been a pivotal year of elections, with more than 64 states going to the ballots, and India was also no exception. There is hardly a month in Indian politics when there is no election. The 18^th Lok Sabha elections were held in 7 phases, with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging third-time victorious, albeit on the crutches of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Although the general elections were crucial, the most significant ones keenly awaited and eyed were the Legislative Assembly elections held in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The BJP faced significant electoral defeats in Jammu and Kashmir, signaling rejection of its policies.

These ballots were unprecedented as they were the first of their kind after decades. They were not merely an electoral process but signified a referendum on the policies adopted by the BJP government in recent years, particularly regarding the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in 2019. The electoral defeat of the BJP reflects the failure of its IIJOK’s strategy, as the Kashmiris, through their votes, have submitted their response rejecting the BJP, its communal politics as well as a strong ideological message that it is the Kashmiris who are the deciders of their identity and fate.

The Legislative Assembly elections were the first after the abrogation of Article 370, seen as a referendum on BJP’s governance.

After a long hiatus of decades, the electoral process was revived in the region. The context of the polls was glaring for the first time after ripping off the IIOJK of its special status and surpassing the hitherto levels of chaos and conflict in the state. Another landmark aspect was the participation of the banned parties such as Jamat-e-Islami and separatist leaders, including Engineer Rashid, Javid Hubbi, and Kaleemullah, symbolizing a shift in their approach to asserting their voice to restore the dignity and autonomy they had lost in the face of a deep morass of political suppression and violence.

There were high political stakes as the elections not only decided the restoration of the statehood but also served as a litmus test for the BJP’s politics in the region. The people made it evident by voting for the National Conference (NC), standing for the restoration of autonomy and denying the BJP to impose a new political order in Kashmir on its own. The BJP attempted to engineer demographic changes, focusing heavily on consolidating its vote bank and also bolstering the illegal Indian claim over the state of Kashmir if the plebiscite occurs. 

Banned parties and separatist leaders participated, indicating a shift towards restoring political dignity in the region.

However, it bore fruits as it swept across the Hindu-majority areas. The region is polarised and characterised by the districts’ composition based on religion. Out of the 10 districts of Jammu, the four constituencies where the BJP marked a striking victory, include Jammu, Sambha, Kathu, and Udhampur. The nationalistic rhetoric of the BJP, premised on integration for development struck a chord with the people of these districts and paved a fertile ground for the party to pursue its agenda of internalising the Kashmir dispute.

On the other hand, this campaign of rousing Hindu nationalism was not able to sway the entire region. The Muslim-majority areas obstructed BJP’s designs to make inroads underscoring that the demographic shifts were not enough to establish a stronghold across the entire region and limitations to its appeal. This was translated into the electoral triumph of the Congress and the NC. They registered their mark with 35 out of 56 seats by winning heavily in the Muslim-majority areas. The voting pattern also depicts that the Kashmiris swung to the electoral politics and the effective campaign of NC, promising the restoration of the statehood which is the top priority demand of the Kashmiris. 

The National Conference emerged victorious, advocating for the restoration of statehood and autonomy for Kashmiris.

They voted to restore their basic rights, end violence, progress their businesses, return to ‘the normal’ as the rest of India—all premised on the restoration of statehood of the IIOJK. Taking a step in keeping the word and in line with its mandate, Omer Abdullah, the new Chief Minister of IIOJK has passed a resolution to restore the statehood. However, it remains an indisputable reality that the Kashmir dispute is a protracted conflict and needs resolution through a plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.

Maryum Tamoor is a lecturer at Quaid-i-Azam Univerisity and a research analyst based in Islamabad. She tweets @maryumtaimoor