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| Who will the Dogras vote for in the coming municipal elections? | | Limited Choice - III | | Neha
Jammu, Jan 16: It is the people of 24 assembly constituencies in Jammu province, all in the Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur and Reasi districts and parts of Rajouri district, whose position is quite precarious. Their choice is rather limited. They have no lost for the Congress party because they consider this party as the mother of all ills facing not just them but the entire state. They are of the firm belief that it is the Congress and New Delhi which are squarely responsible for their miserable plight and all round degeneration. They are also of the view that it is the Congress which has consistently sacrificed them to keep the Kashmiri leadership in its right side. In this context, they refer to a number of instances.
For example, they say that it is the negative attitude of the Congress party that has helped the Kashmiri leadership to defeat their demand for the delimitation of the assembly constituencies and their resultant inadequate representation in the Assembly; creation of equal number of districts in Kashmir and Jammu overlooking the fact that the area of Jammu province is two times that of Kashmir and that its terrain is also treacherous, difficult and inaccessible as compared to Kashmir; unwillingness of the Congress to implement its 2008 election manifesto which had provided for an amendment in the state constitution and establishment of regional council in Jammu province; conspiracy hatched by the Congress and the National Conference to withdraw the order under which the Dogras were entitled to obtain Dogra certificate; and so on. Not just this, they are also of the view that the Congress and New Delhi have left no stone unturned to demoralize and weaken the nationalist constituency in the state, the backbone of the Indian nation in the state.
The people of these 24 assembly constituencies have identical views about the BJP. They are of the view that the BJP, like the Congress, has consistently played foul with them in order to keep the Kashmiri leadership in good humour. They are also of the firm view that the BJP, like the Congress, has always ditched the nationalist constituency in the state and practiced a policy that has always held Kashmir aloof from the national mainstream. Besides, they believe that the BJP is not only a party of unscrupulous elements but also a party which has all through hoodwinked them and played with their sentiments for promoting their own selfish interests. In this regard, they particularly refer to the BJP role in 1998, 2002 and 2011. In 1998, the BJP tried its best to weaken the student movement engineered to force the NC government to set up Mata Vaishno Devi University and Agricultural University in Jammu and reserve all the seats available with the Jammu-based technical and professional colleges for the Jammu youth. The BJP failed, notwithstanding the fact that a couple of BJP MLAs opposed in the assembly the bill seeking establishment of the Mata Vaishno Devi University. In 2002, the BJP voted for the amendment under which the NC banned delimitation of constituencies for decades together. In 2011, as many as 7 BJP MLAs voted for the parties against which it had consistently fought and sought votes. I am referring to the Congress and the NC.
There are umpteen other instances which serve to prove that the BJP made tall promises during election campaign and its election manifesto to induce or lure voters and then betrayed their trust and bartered away their interests for self-aggrandizement. The fact is that the BJP leadership, like the Jammu-based Congress leadership, has no conscience and that it, like the Congress, has jeopardized the interests of the people of Jammu province.
These are the parties the people of Jammu province would have to exercise their choice between. The Panthers Party will be the third important factor. It has a definite Jammu-specific agenda, but the problem with this party is its leadership which is quite inconsistent. Besides, its leadership doesn't look beyond four constituencies, Udhampur, Ramnagar, Samba and Chenani. It can play an important role in these 24 constituencies provided its leadership makes up its mind to work with a single-minded devotion to first capture most of the municipalities in these 24 assembly constituencies and then concentrate on the assembly seats. It is a 30-year-old formation and it came into being to fight for and promote further the cause of the people of Jammu province. If it has failed to click across the whole province, it is the fault of its leadership and not the people.
All this suggests that the Dogras' choice in the coming local-bodies' elections would be quite limited. How sad! Who will the Dogras vote for in the coming municipal elections is the question that is under sharp focus these days in Jammu. One thing is clear: The Dogras will have to wait for some more time for the rise of leadership that is credible, committed and pubic spirited. (Concluded) |
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