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| Activists, middle rung leaders question poll boycott decision | | Abdullahs, Muftis face rebellion | | Early times Report
JAMMU, Sept 26: Kashmir centric parties National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party are facing resentment within the party ranks for boycotting the forthcoming municipal and panchayat polls in the state.
Sources told Early Times that party activists and the grass root workers are of the opinion that both the parties want family rule to prevail and their leaders only want to safeguard their interests. They (NC and PDP leaders) are least bothered about empowering the people who work on the ground.
"Both the parties stayed away from the elections just to intimidate the Centre and drive home point that no election process in Kashmir would be successful without Abdullahs and Muftis," said a politician.
He said that both the families are annoyed with New Delhi for sidelining them and they fear that Centre is sidelining them to give others a chance. "Since the day PDP led BJP government has fallen in the state both NC and PDP are trying to come closer to each other and are projecting that they are on the same page," the politician added.
An analyst said that Muftis and Abdullahs have always worked for empowering their own family members and have shown no interest to take democracy to take the people, who really could make a difference and work on the ground. "The NC and PDP leaders want to be MLAs, MPs and MLCs so that they are treated like VIPs and enjoy all the privileges," he said, "To contest panchayat and municipal polls doesn't enthuse them as these are meant to empower the common people."
A politician said that both NC and PDP have been claiming that security situation is not conducive for holding elections but this is just a "lame excuse." "Situation in north and central Kashmir is much better than south Kashmir as the militants have not been able to make their presence felt in these areas. Only a few pockets in south Kashmir are volatile but that doesn't mean that entire Kashmir is burning. By boycotting these polls these parties have pushed their activists and workers further away from the people and have given legitimacy to Pak stooges and the militants operating in the Valley," the politician added.
Referring to the resignation of the NC spokesman Junaid Mattu, the politician said that Mattu's decision to contest the forthcoming municipal polls from Srinagar could set a trend and the politicians who want to build their careers are likely to follow his footsteps. "It looks like that people are out to challenge the family raaj and the hegemony of the parties which have ruled J&K for years together," he added. |
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