Seat vacant since April 2016 | Government spokesman says ‘no proposal as such’
By-poll in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency will not be held now. Instead, the constituency will go to polls during the next general election scheduled to be held in April-May next year because, as one official said the “reasons are known to everybody, the situation isn’t favorable there”.
This is probably for the first time in J&K that “unfavorable situation” has forced the government to cancel a by-election altogether in a parliamentary seat lying vacant for the past 21 months.
The official said a periodical review of the situation in the constituency was being conducted, and the state government would not recommend to the Election Commission of India to conduct by-poll there.
The government spokesperson and senior minister Naeem Akhter said there was “no proposal as such (to hold the by-polls)”.
Four districts—Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama and Kulgam—in the constituency are at the vanguard of a resurgent militancy backed by unprecedented public support, which has virtually left mainstream politics in these areas irrelevant.
State chief electoral officer ShaleenKabra said there was “no further development” on holding by-polls to the Anantnag segment. An official at the state chief electoral office said that under People’s Representation Act, the ECI doesn’t initiate an election related exercise when only a year is left for the LokSabha term.
On the by-poll day in Srinagar on April 9, protesters clashed with government forces at several polling stations to enforce boycott of elections. As many as eight protesters were shot dead by the forces, prompting the government to cancel by-poll in Anantnag scheduled April 12 as it feared more intense protests there.
The assessment made by the government was that the segment could witnesses more killings and that the voter turnout would dip less than six percent recorded in Srinagar constituency.
Since 2016 uprising that was triggered by killing of popular militant commander BurhanWani, there has been no let up in protests in the four southern districts. Sixty of the 100 civilians killed during the uprising and hundreds of those blinded by pellet ammunition belong to these districts.
During the past 16 months, the districts have witnessed over 250 militant killings during counter insurgency operations. But at the same time the recruitment of local youth into the militancy has continued and the phenomena of civilians risking their lives to rush to encounter sites to try and save militants has only made the situation difficult for the government and forces.
Today, the region is almost out of bounds for mainstream parties which have not dared to hold political rallies, not to talk of carrying out election campaigns.
The seat had fallen vacant on 4 July 2016 after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who had won the segment in 2014 LokSabha elections, resigned to retain the Anantnag assembly seat won by her in the by-polls in June that year.
The by-poll had to be held within six months by 4 January 2017. But in October 2016, when Kashmir was in the middle of the uprising, the government recommended deferment of the polls citing the situation was not conducive. It was for the second time in history of J&K that “law and order disturbances” had prompted the poll body to defer the elections beyond mandatory six-month deadline.
Later, the state chief electoral officer in its report submitted to the poll body in November 2016, favoured holding polls simultaneously for Anantnag and Srinagar seats before April 17 next year.
But after April cancellation the poll date was rescheduled for May 25. However, again the exercise couldn’t be held due to security reasons.
“The state administration in its reports informed that certain elements have started anti-election campaign against the upcoming by-elections,” the Election Commission said in its notice.
The cancellation of the poll, which was termed as victory of separatists in Kashmir by mainstream politicians including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, was reminiscent of 1991 when the ECI couldn’t hold election for any LokSabha seat in the state.
On 18 April 1991 the President of India had promulgated the Representation of People (Amendment) Ordinance to enable the ECI to conduct LS elections without taking into account the parliamentary constituencies of J&K.
Subsequently, the Parliament passed “The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act” to replace the Ordinance.
Elections for the State Assembly also couldn’t be held for six years after then Governor Jagmohan, in a controversial move, dissolved the Assembly in 1990.
In mid 1995, when J&K was under President’s Rule, the Government of India recommended to the ECI to hold an early election in the state. However, in November 1995, the three-member ECI unanimously rejected government’s recommendations as it felt that conditions in the state were not conducive for holding them. The polls were later held after a gap of six years in 1996.
During 1996 elections, the Government of India brought polling staff from other states after local employees refused to join duties.
A senior minister in the state government acknowledged that the situation in southern Kashmir wasn’t favorable for holding polls.
“There isn’t much to talk about it (situation). We all know about the anger in the region which has got aggravated due to the civilian killings,” the minister said.
The government’s decision to cancel the Anantnag by-poll comes at a time when the prevailing situation has already forced it to delay conduct of Panchayat polls, which are due since July 2016, to end of this year.
The Story Was First Published On Greater Kashmir Largest Circulated Daily Of Kashmir