Politics hots up in J&K before electoral spring

Political leaders are busy meeting party workers, holding rallies and conventions across the UT in the run-up to Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, writes MERAJ BHAT

- MERAJ BHAT

The bright sunny days replacing the frigid 40-day Chilla-iKalan have warmed up the Valley's frozen political landscape and sparked a flurry of activities among its politicians.

Mainstream political leaders are busy meeting party workers, holding rallies and conventions across the Union Territory (UT) to woo voters. They are all agog for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, likely to be followed by the eagerly awaited Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) this year.

"We are gearing up for the Lok Sabha polls. We have been meeting people, it's limited mostly to workers," senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Naeem Akhtar told Business Standard.

The former minister of education, however, said he was unsure whether the parliamentary polls would pave the way for Assembly elections. In December, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission of India to conduct Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir by September this year.

"There have been many Supreme Court decisions which have not been implemented in the past. If they had been serious about it, they could have held them with the Lok Sabha polls. It would have saved effort and people would have got something to look forward to, although I don't have much hope in the new system. It will be a helpless, powerless Assembly, but even that is perhaps being denied," he said.