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| What does high voter turnout in Kashmir mean for BJP? | | Seeking to achieve the unachievable | | Masood Malik | 12/12/2014 12:02:28 PM |
| Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 11: Kashmir has been witnessing high voter turnout in the assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir. During the last three phases of election, it witnessed voter turnout ranging from over 70 per cent to 58 per cent. It can be described as an impressive voter turnout. What does the high voter turnout in Kashmir mean for the BJP and other Kashmiri parties? The BJP is also a Kashmiri party for all practical purposes, as it is under the influence of Kashmiris like Hina Bhat, who only recently declared that she would pick up gun and turn a militant if the BJP scrapped Article 370.
The high voter turnout in the Valley basically means two things. One is that the Kashmiri voters came out on the polling days in large numbers for a change. There should be no doubt about it. The ruling coalition comprising National Conference and Congress, which failed the people of the state during its 6-year-long misrule, is destined to suffer the biggest ever defeat in the Valley. It would be a victory of sorts if the NC and the Congress win even a dozen and three seats, respectively, out of 46 assembly seats into which the Kashmir Valley is territorially divided. The high voter turnout in the Valley means the possibility of the People's Democratic Party winning around 30 seats. The high poll in the Valley could also mean the decimation of smaller players like Sajjad Lone, Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Hakim Yaseen and so on. Indeed, the high poll in the Valley is advantageous for the PDP and disadvantageous for the NC, the Congress and all other smaller political players.
The other is that the BJP is all set to again bite dust in the Valley. The BJP, which has put up many candidates in the Valley this time, may get some votes in certain assembly constituencies, but it is extremely unlikely that it would open its account in the Valley, notwithstanding the fact that the BJP is not leaving any stone unturned to create history in Kashmir by winning a seat or two in Kashmir. Even its mind-boggling U-turn on Article 370; its statement that Islam would flourish in Kashmir if BJP comes to power in Jammu & Kashmir; its advocacy of Kashmiriyat and anti-India Vajpayee line; and its oft-repeated statement that it feels the pain of Kashmiri Muslims and it will do everything for Kashmiri Muslims will not help it win a seat in the Valley. The Kashmiri Muslim voters came out in large numbers on November 25, December 2 and December 9 not only to ensure the defeat of the NC-Congress coalition government but also to see to it that the BJP didn't win any seat in the Valley.
That the BJP would fail to open its account in the Valley was a foregone conclusion and the manner in which the BJP poll managers organized the whole election campaign further damaged the BJP in the Valley. The fact of the matter is that the BJP itself would be responsible for its very poor performance in the highly radicalized Kashmir Valley. It's not that the BJP is unlikely to open its account in the Valley; it has also created difficulties for itself in Jammu province by taking recourse to the policy of appeasement and taking the Jammu electorate for a ride. The point is that the poll-managers have punctured the BJP mission 44+ themselves for reasons best known to them and disappointed those who had seen in PM Modi a ray of hope |
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