Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is an expert in manipulating the elections with blatant foul plays. Her long-term stay in the power corridors of New Delhi is reliant on multiple election gimmicks. Hindutva-inspired prejudice with the Muslim community is an essential part of BJP’s election tool kit. Narendra Modi managed to secure the third term in PM office, however, he could not obtain the decisive majority essentially required to amend the constitution without any hurdle.
This numerical dent in BJP’s political fortress is quite irking for the top tier of the mother organization RSS. As three times PM, Narendra Modi seems more focused on creating his legacy as an invincible party stalwart who achieved unprecedented goals. Recently held elections in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are part of Modi’s obsession with a political legacy-building drive. The formulation of a majority government in IIOJK is an old unfulfilled wish of the BJP.
Back in 2014, the BJP left no stone unturned to win 44 seats to emerge in the state assembly as the majority party. An ill-conceived election operation known as “Mission 44” was busted on the face of the BJP amid historical defeat. Critics questioned the credibility of the BJP in the eyes of the Kashmiri masses as the party could not win requisite seats even during a highly manipulated election.
After facing defeat in the elections, BJP relied on time tested old playbook and joined hands with PDP then led by Mufti Saeed known as one of the trusted puppet chief ministers installed by New Delhi. The freedom movement got a boost in those days with the thundering rise of Burhan Wani. The involvement of Kashmiri youth in the freedom movement was largely inspired by the charismatic role of Burhan Wani who picked weapons in retaliation of Indian state-sponsored terrorism in IIOJK.
The uprising in Kashmiri youth was not acceptable to the tyrant decision-makers of the BJP. Resultantly Burhan Wani and many of his young companions were martyred for seeking freedom of occupied Kashmir. The public uprising in IIOJK after the martyrdom of Burhan Wani was too strong to control for weak rootless government of Mufti Saeed. Baton of chief ministership was transferred to Mehbooba Mufti after the death of Mufti Saeed.
Subsequently, the BJP dismantled the PDP government and appointed a lieutenant Governor to control the occupied territory with aristocratic maneuvers. Recent elections in IIOJK after a long pause is not the restoration of the democratic process but rather a ritual to legitimize the tyranny and illegal occupation. BJP is striving hard to repair the torn mask of democracy with highly controversial elections in IIOJK.
The BJP government led by Modi has vigorously manifested a venomous plan to conquer Jammu and Kashmir with unfair means. Abolishment of Article 370 and 35A was aimed at depriving the Kashmiris of statehood and birth rights on native land. Systematic manipulations in demography have been made to dent the Muslim majority. Non-residents are being brought and issued with domiciles in IIOJK to dilute the majority of native Kashmiris.
Modi’s regime understand that such coercive moves would face hard resistance from Kashmiri masses. Deployment of additional companies of Paramilitary troops was ensured before the election process to suppress the resistance of the masses. Besides controversial demographic changes, BJP hawks have manipulated the delimitation process in 22 constituencies.
This blatant gerrymandering was aimed at reducing the impact of Muslim majority votes. Pre-poll rigging of such a serious nature has snatched every bit of legitimacy from recently held manipulated elections. Otherwise, Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory. A transparent plebiscite is the only suitable way to resolve the long-standing dispute without using the weapon of violence against the Kashmiri masses.
Modi-led BJP is pushing the whole region towards a greater disaster. True representatives and leaders of IIOJK are behind the bars. There is no concept of fundamental rights in occupied territory. Unarmed Kashmiris are vulnerable to state-sponsored atrocities which unfold in the form of extra judicial killings, custodial torture, fake encounters, forced burials and demolition of properties.
Unlike democratic norms, the recent process of forced election in IIOJK actually revolves around imposing the tyranny of the Hindutva regime in occupied territory against the wishes of the people. The civilized world is paying more attention to the genuine griefs of Kashmiris and questioning the controversial legitimacy of enforced elections in the disputed territory of IIOJK.
