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| Panchayat polls, a litmus test for ruling coalition | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Feb 9: Now that the state cabinet has set the stage for a three-tier Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir from March onwards the poll will be the first litmus test for the National Conference-Congress coalition Government in general and Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah in particular.
The test will be not only in the shape of ruling coalition's success in the polls but also in the form of the level of peoples' participation and the Government's ability to complete the elections in all the Panchayat bodies at the village and the district level. When the Panchayat elections in the state were held over a decade ago, after about a gap of 23 years, the polling could be completed in only 50 per cent of the Panchayat committees. The reason being difficult security scenario preventing the Government from holding the elections in rest of the state and on account of weather problems.
Even before the Government had set the stage for the Panchayat poll the separatists, as is their habit, had already given a call to people to boycott the elections. No doubt their calls for poll boycott had not evoked any major response from the people in 2002 and 2008 Assembly elections, the last summer civilian strife is said to have given confidence to the separatists that their call could receive good response. It is here the popularity or lack of it of the Government will be on test. The ensuing Panchayat elections will demonstrate whether the National Conference and the Congress have suffered erosion in their strength and if the mainstream opposition parties have been able to add to their political weight or have been forced to shed some of it. The ensuing elections have special importance for the separatists. If people ignore their call for boycott it would mean that the hold of separatists has started getting weaker. If he state registers poor polling it could have international ramifications because of the nature of the Kashmir issue.
Panchayati Raj has been a casualty in Jammu and Kashmir. Even prior to the rise of militancy related violence in 1990 establishment of elected Panchayats and civic bodies has not remained a priority for the state Government. When the elections were held over a decade ago the Government's promise of completing the exercise of establishing elected Panchayats in areas where the elections could not be held was not fulfilled. It was so because the promise had been made by the National Conference Government which lost power after 2002 Assembly elections.
When the PDP led Government was formed in 2002 its first major decision was to dissolve all the Panchayat bodies after making a promise that fresh elections would be held. These elections were not held even when PDP shared power with the Congress between 2002 and 2008.
This way Omar Abdullah led Government deserves credit for announcing the programme on holding the Panchayat elections. Now the task for the coalition Government is to ensure that these elections were free, fair and incident free. Its task is to take in hand measures which could encourage people, especially women, to participate in the polling. Also, it is the utmost duty of the Government to provide required encouragement to women so that they take full advantage of 33 per cent reservation for them. In the previous elections various Panchayat bodies could not find women candidates to contest the elections with the result in certain areas seats were filled through nomination by the Government. |
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