Why is Modi’s party not contesting the election in Kashmir?

May 12, 2024 2:44 am

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been campaigning extensively across India, the world’s largest democratic country. But this is the first time since 1996 that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not contesting in Kashmir. Rather, two local political parties – the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) – are contesting the three seats there.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, has been waging a 35-year-old insurgency against Indian rule. Thousands of people have been killed.

Although these two powerful local parties are rivals, both parties say they are opposed to the Hindu nationalist BJP. The leaders of the two parties said that they will also form an alliance with the Congress-led alliance.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has campaigned to win more than 400 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. They are competing in every state of India. Why is BJP not fighting in Kashmir?

Opposition parties, including analysts, say the election results are likely to backfire on Modi’s bid for a peaceful and more integrated Kashmir. This can be an important reason not to compete. Because the Modi government revoked the semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, revoking their separate constitution. On the other hand, Modi brought Kashmir under the control of central government in New Delhi. As a result, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two federal territories. Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley with a Hindu-dominated Jammu. Another Buddhist dominated Ladakh.

At that time, the Modi government implemented a strict lockdown in Kashmir. Almost all local leaders, including National Conference leader and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah, were kept under house arrest for months.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP contested three seats in Kashmir. But they lost to Abdullah’s National Conference in all of them. This year BJP is contesting two seats in Jammu and one in Ladakh. BJP won those seats mainly because of partition of Kashmir.

Because Anantnag in Kashmir had 16 lakh Muslim voters. But with the merger of Jammu and Kashmir, one million Hindu voters from Poonch and Rajouri districts were added.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the Modi government’s move is to disempower and isolate Kashmiris and disempower Muslims. Still BJP could not benefit here.

However, BJP’s Kashmir division chief Ravinder Raina said the decision to skip the polls was part of the party’s larger strategy. He claimed that even if the BJP does not contest there, it will support a candidate who will work for peace, happiness, brotherhood and democracy.

But the BJP is yet to announce which of the many smaller parties it will support.