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| NC loss is gain to PDP while Congress erosion is helpful for BJP | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 21: Though their number is over six lakhs Government employees do not have as much capacity for making or marring the fortune of political parties during the Assembly elections as about three lakh employees have in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.
It is an admitted fact that employees in Himachal Pradesh have become king makers. There are over 40 lakh voters in Himachal Pradesh and hence the total number of employees and their family members, put together, constitute 40 per cent of the total electorate. Since the employees and their family members, who are registered voters do not avoid casting votes their each vote counts.
In Jammu and Kashmir the total number of voters is over 61 lakhs and hence six lakh employees and their family members, put together, constitute about 45 per cent of the total electorate. Hence the employees in Jammu and Kashmir could have become king makers. It has not happened because the Government employees are a divided lot and each employee has his or her roots in one political party or the other. This loyaly to political parties is limited in Himachal where leaders decide which party should receive their votes.
Even then the voting strength of the Government employees and their family members is by no means insignificant. They can play a vital role in making or unmaking the fortune of political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir. And if the Assembly elections are held within a month or so the ruling National Conference may not be able to poll more then 10 per cent votes from the employees vote bank.
The reason is simply the way the ruling alliance has given a shabby treatment to the employees. During the last two years employees have staged inermittent demonstrations in protest against the Government's dilly dally tactics in holding the release of the arrears of the sixth pay commission.
Talk to employees their common refrain is "we got respect and our demands were fulfilled during the time the state was run by PDP led coalition Government." This sum up the level of anger the employees have against the ruling coalition. What is amazing is the way Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, has been espousing the cause of opening sustained dialogue with Islamabad on one hand as he believes that all problems can be resolved through talks but on the other hand he uses the language of "danda" against the employees who are part of the Government.
Observers believe that National Conference having become rudderless and the state unit of the Congress having suffered erosion because of dissensions may ultimately help the PDP to strengthen its bases and areas of influence among people. Mathematically speaking loss to NC and the Congress is gain to the PDP. And the role the union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has been playing in patronising the dissidents in the congress was likely to help the BJP to regain its ground in the Jammu region.
No doubt Omar Abdullah is trying to hijack whatever agenda is framed by the PDP but in doing so he has made the Congress vulnerable to public criticism, especially in the region of Jammu. Those who are supporters of the NC-Congress alliance seem to be crestfallen because of the functioning of the ruling coalition.
"While Omar Abdullah is presiding over the downfall of the National Conference Ghulam Nabi Azad is manoeuvring eclipse of the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir." This is what common people firmly believe.
If by ordering a lathi charge on protesting employees the ruling coalition lost sympathy and support of people its equally firm action against teachers who were demanding regularisation of their services has earned deep displeasure of the people. Possibly Omar knows it that there should be no scope or room for a sustained dialogue with employees demanding release of sixth pay commission arrears. |
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