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Die has been cast for local polls in J&K

The die has been cast for an ambitious electoral process at the grassroots level in Jammu and Kashmir.

Village level 23,000 constituencies of headmen and representatives are spread over the length and breadth of the state, 50 per cent of them in extremely inaccessible areas.

While the official cease-fire holds, militant violence is recording newer heights.

For Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, the gamble seems to be worth it, otherwise he would not have timed panchayati elections when militants have resumed targeting pro-India militants, workers of various political parties and village headmen. Abdullah opposes Hurriyat-Centre talks.

Although the state administration has chosen to have the elections conducted on non-party lines and thereby trying to ease militant pressure that could show up by targeting activists of contesting parties, there is little on the ground to indicate that carrying forward of the intended village-level elections throughout the state would remain peaceful.

There are far-reaching implications and serious practical difficulties beset in the conduct of the elections, which unlike state assembly elections, have to be spread to every nook and corner of the state. A modest estimate puts the number of contestants at more than 40,000 and for a number like this it will be impossible to provide foolproof security, according to senior state government officials.

Given experiences with the electoral processes in the state during the last 11 years of insurgency, holding of smooth and bloodless elections, even when a limited number of contestants has been involved, was a herculean task. "It would be like trying to accomplish the impossible if the government expects us to provide security to all the contestants in the ensuing electoral process," said a senior security officer.

Village level panchayats are, under the latest dispensation, supposed to manage constituencies as completely independent units wherein all administrative and financial matters are to be handled independently by such elected bodies. The constitution of such elected bodies will finally sent the message of mainstream Indian politics having been taken to its logical conclusion; this is a situation which underground guerrillas would give their right hand not to allow this to happen.

Conversely, the state government headed by Abdullah appears to be bent to convey the message that democracy has been finally restored at the grass-roots level in Kashmir despite the heavy odds of militants opposing any electoral process under the Indian Constitution.

While it is premature to suggest that any secessionist political outfit will participate in the process, even if the process remains confined to pro-India political parties, the task of holding them remains debatable given the mammoth security arrangements that will have to made.

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