For all the noise surrounding the abolition of Article 370, it turns out the issue barely made a ripple in the just-concluded Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. The state’s political leaders, long reliant on the rhetoric of special status, were left shouting into the wind—because voters simply weren’t listening.
Since the bifurcation and demotion of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory in 2019, governance has been in the hands of the lieutenant governor, a figure handpicked by the Ministry of Home Affairs. And with a recent tweak in the law, the LG now wields near-veto power over decisions made by any popularly elected government, a fact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by local politicians.
Historically, after Sheikh Abdullah’s era of honest and visionary leadership, subsequent Kashmir leaders used Article 370 more as a political crutch than a tool for the public good. Instead of leveraging it for the region’s progress, they cashed in on its emotional weight to line their pockets and bolster their political careers.
Meanwhile, the people of Jammu grew increasingly frustrated, feeling sidelined and neglected by the Valley’s dominant political class. Discrimination and exclusion brewed resentment, but this time around, the issues driving voters were far more immediate: rampant unemployment, soaring inflation, and the persistent absence of real democracy.
In the end, the Article 370 debate has faded into the background, replaced by the harsh realities of everyday life—making it clear that the political landscape in Jammu and Kashmir is changing, with or without its once-symbolic status.
—Promod Puri
Promod Puri.com 