REKHA CHOWDHARY, V NAGENDRA RAO

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Separatists’ Response

Like earlier elections, the separatists had formally initiated a boycott campaign. But except for the aggressive campaign of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the campaign by other separatists was not as intense. This was

Constituency Percentage of Voter Turnout in 1996 2002 2006

Sangrama 60.26 22.10 63.83 Rafiabad 44.03 52.54 75.70 Pattan 71.36 41.55 69.23 Bhaderwah 66.73 54.25 76.02

Source: Chief electoral officer, Jammu and Kashmir, database of Election Commission of India.

Economic and Political Weekly May 20, 2006 mainly due to the grassroot level response of people which is no longer positive to boycott politics – for three reasons. Firstly, in the context of peace process which reflects the popular urge for normalcy, boycott is seen as negative, hostile to the direction that the peace process is taking. Rather than indulging in such negative activities, like strikes or boycott, people now expect separatists to indulge in more positive processes that would contribute to the peace process. Secondly, in militancy ridden areas, which all the three north Kashmir constituencies represented, people are looking for a respite and therefore do not endorse the politics of boycott. As it became clear in the 2002 assembly election which reflected an uneven pattern of political participation, boycott politics has greater chances of succeeding in areas low in the level of violence. In the violenceprone areas, the urge for electoral participation is higher.2 Thirdly, in rural constituencies like these three constituencies of north Kashmir, where the local MLA is the only connection with the power structure, people want to exercise their choice in the election. Indulging in boycott results in the election by default of a representative with whom people may not identify.

The feeling that the boycott strategy may not work, therefore, resulted in separatists resorting to boycott politics only in a token form. However, the voters’ response in this election went much beyond the assessment of separatists. What astounded the separatists most was the eagerness of the voters to participate in the electoral process. The enthusiasm of people, who hitherto had remained sceptic of the electoral process, has initiated a debate among the separatists who are offering different explanations for the response of the voters. The major argument being floated by the former is that this election or for that matter, any other election is in no way related to the larger question of Kashmir which remains the most relevant one for Kashmiris. “People were mobilised by the offer of development sops in every village. This took the debate away from the larger political reality of Kashmir”,3 thus argues Geelani.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, similarly drawing a line between participation of people in elections and their separatist sentiment argues that there is need to take the question of elections out of the general separatist debate on Kashmir. “I think we have taken this issue too far. Elections are for governance and about everyday issues. And to see them as public opinion on the resolution of Kashmir dispute is misleading.”4

One interesting factor that might have influenced voter participation in this election, especially in the valley of Kashmir, was the nature of the contest. With the exception of the Baderwah constituency where no political party except the BJP gave the challenge to the Congress candidate Ghulam Nabi Azad, in all the other constituencies there was a very stiff competition between the NC and the PDP. For both the parties, it was an election of very high stakes, the leaders linking their prestige with the outcome itself. For both the parties, it was not only a matter of winning a seat or a chance to test their electoral strength in Kashmir region, but also an occasion to even their scores with each other. In the two constituencies of Rafiabad and Pattan, the NC was facing two its own defectors, Dilawar Mir and Maulvi Iftikhar Ansari who were now contesting on PDP tickets. To give them a tough competition, the NC had fielded very high profile candidates. Mustafa Kamal, brother of Farooq Abdullah, for instance, was fielded by the NC against Iftikhar Ansari in Pattan. The stakes for the two parties were high in the third constituency as well though the contest here was between the PDP and an independent candidate. The NC was supporting the independent candidate Shoaib Lone, son of Ghulam Nabi Lone, a PDP minister of state assassinated by militants last year. Rather than giving ticket to his son, the PDP had fielded Javed Beig, the nephew of Muzzafar Beig, the state’s deputy chief minister. Campaigning was hectic and voters were mobilised by both parties invoking all kinds of issues.5 Voter mobilisation also took place due to the internal dissensions within the PDP and the Congress.6

The charged environment of electoral politics indicates the change in grassroot level responses towards democratic politics. As the political space becomes intensely competitive, it also provids greater space for expression of popular issues within the mainstream politics thereby adding to its role and credibility. There are two important factors to note in this context. Firstly, electoral politics is no more a non-legitimate activity in the valley. Earlier, in a separatist-oriented politics, the role of electoral politics was seriously questioned. Over the years, the electoral politics has carved a space for itself and its role is generally accepted. Even separatists like Mirwaiz Omar Farooq do not see anything wrong in people electing their representatives. Commenting on the byelections, he said: “These elections are about choosing the right candidates. If people pay taxes, they have reason to see that the money is in the right hands.”7

Economic and Political Weekly May 20, 2006

resolution of Kashmir problem”. Addressing the separatist sentiment therefore has its own logic and cannot be substituted by electoral politics. However, the two processes – the process of addressing the separatist sentiment through the peace process and the process of democratising mainstream politics are interlinked and do supplement each other. Extension of democratic space, as these by-elections reveal, will certainly generate a better environment for sustenance of the peace process.

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Email: rekchowdhary@gmail.com

a grenade attack during the polling process.