TRIGGERED TERRITORY

Giving voting rights to nonlocals in J&K is seen as a move to disempower natives  

- TARIQ BHAT

THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE of Jammu and Kashmir is about to undergo a massive change. Non-locals, including armed forces personnel, public and private sector employees, students and migrant labourers, can now vote in the assembly elections in the Union territory. Announcing the change on August 17, Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar said a domicile certificate was no longer needed for a person to become a voter, as the Representation of the People Act, 1951, had become applicable to J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.

J&K has 98 lakh adults and 76 lakh voters, he noted. “We are expecting an addition of 20 to 25 lakh new voters in the final list,’’ he said. Political observers said that a 30 per cent increase in the number of voters would be unprecedented and would alter the Union territory’s political and demographic landscape to the detriment of natives. The move to include non-locals in the voter list has reignited anger in J&K, the only Muslim-majority region in the country.

Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference wondered if the BJP was so insecure that it had to import temporary voters to win seats. “None of these things will help the BJP when the people of J&K get a chance to exercise their franchise,” he said.

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party said the announcement was the last nail in the coffin of electoral democracy. She said the decision to defer polls in J&K was preceded by egregious gerrymandering. “Now, allowing non-locals to vote is to influence election results,” she said. “The aim is to continue ruling J&K with an iron fist to disempower natives.”