Panchayat elections

People's response to the panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which are being conducted in a phased manner since January this year, has differed depending on the political situation prevailing in different parts of the state. While the elections have evoked an enthusiastic response in many parts of Jammu and Ladakh, in Kashmir valley they have been virtually a paper exercise. Political processes and institutions in the valley suffer from a crisis of legitimacy. Panchayati institutions are perceived as a part of the existing structure of power that bears no relation to the aspirations and choices of people.

Apart from organising the electoral process, the state government has done little to facilitate broader democratic goals through the panchayat elections in the state. The political parties are equally apathetic towards promoting this objective. But the involvement of a large number of people's organisations in the broader election process has made a 'non-political' election into one which has distinct political dimensions because of the presence of the poor and the issues they are raising.