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| No reason to defer polls | | | | Nowhere else in the country the ‘no’ and ‘yes’ mechanics of holding or not holding assembly elections have been debated like it has happened in case of Jammu and Kashmir. And on Tuesday when the Election Commission announced holding assembly elections to five states in the country –Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Chhatisgarh and Mizoram –it skipped a decision in case of Jammu and Kashmir. Three months since the assembly was dissolved ahead of its schedule, under unpleasant circumstances, and little over one month left when a new elected government should have been in place, the Jammu and Kashmir has no idea of when exactly they are going to have an elected government back at the seat of power. The Election Commission of India, though a highly constitutional body, plays a truant and so do some of the political parties. Commission is saying none –neither yes nor no. “We will let you at an appropriate time”, is the only one-liner which one gets from the Commission. There are wider and deeper dynamics of holding elections now or putting them off for few months. Even if we skip the debate of importance of the timing of elections, at least the people of Jammu and Kashmir have a right to know when exactly they are going to participate in their most important democratic exercise. Till Tuesday, when announcement was still pending for all states which were due to go to polls along with Jammu and Kashmir, the people in this state had been looking towards the Election Commission for the last call. However, when the schedule was set out for five states, the people of Jammu and Kashmir were left disappointed. There could have been a ‘straight no’ to put the speculations at rest. Media reports attributed to the unnamed sources say that there is a difference of opinion within the Commission. One of the Election Commissioners believe that situation in Kashmir Valley is not suitable for going to elections at this point in time. The prevailing situation and the possible reasons are clearly visible. Things are not quite at ease in the Kashmir Valley and the Election Commission fears a dismally low percentage if polls are held in present circumstances. Such fears are not misplaced. The Commission or any member of it has a reason to feel so. But at the same time a fear a low turnout in one part of the state can not be made a reason for denying the people in two other regions there right to participate in the democratic exercise when it is due. Elections are important to the survival of any democratic system and they should always be held when they are due. We understand that a low turn out makes a bad publicity of democracy but deferring elections is still a bad news. |
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