Jammu and Kashmir Politics : A Troubled History

By Deepak Parvatiyar

October 30, 2014

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The Jammu & Kashmir elections are all about the Abdullah family; the politics of (now defunct) Jamat-e-Islami; boycott calls by separatist bodies, and terrorism! Frequent low to average turnouts in the Valley following terror threats by Pakistan-sponsored militant outfits, and allegations of rigging are the two other prominent features of elections.

Early J&K Politics (1950s-1970s) – dominated by Sheikh Abdullah

Political parties in J&K allege that the Centre has always sought to control the politics of the state by proxy. In 1953, the legendary Sheikh Abdullah was dismissed as Wazir-e-Azam (Prime Minister) of Jammu and Kashmir by the then Sadar-e-Riyasat (Head of the State) Dr Karan Singh (son of the erstwhile ruler of the state, Hari Singh) and arrested following charges of collaborating with Pakistani to overthrow the Government with violence in the Kashmir Conspiracy Case. The party not just allowed the Sheikh to be kept in detention for a long time, but also patronised Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed’s government in the state.

It was in March 1957 when the first assembly elections were held in J&K. At that time the National Conference won 68 out of 75 seats. In the second state elections in 1962, the NC got 70 seats while the voters’ turnout was an impressive 65 percent.  At that time, Maulvi Mohammed Farooq took over as the Mirwaiz of J&K State with the support of the then J&K PM, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed. (It was on 10th April 1965 that the nomenclature of Sadar-e-Riyasat and Wazir-e- Azam changed to Governor and Chief Minister in the state Constitution).

The state elections in 1972 again saw a 62 per cent voters’ turnout. The Congress won the elections and secured 58 seats. This was the election when the J&K Jamaat-e-Islami contested for the first time and won 5 seats.

Sheikh Abdullah finally revived the National Conference after signing the Kashmir accord with the then PM, Indira Gandhi, in 1974. The Congress abdicated power in the state as per the accord, and on 25 February 1975, he took over as the Chief Minister of the J&K with the outside support of the Congress to his National Conference government. But the arrangement did not last long and the Congress withdrew its support on 16th March 1977 that led to the imposition of Governor’s rule in the state.

Yet, Sheikh Abdullah returned to power after the fifth state Assembly elections in July 1977. His National Conference secured 44 seats, followed by the Janata Party (13) seats and the Congress-I (11). The voters’ turnout was again high with 6 percent turnout.

Dr Farooq Abdullah : The Legacy Continued

Obviously the Congress was marginalised in the 1977 election that was popularly perceived as the fairest elections in the Valley. Yet, the Congress sought applying pressure on Sheikh to enter into alliance with the NC. While Sheikh could withstand such pressure, after his demise in 1982, it was not that easy for his son and successor Dr. Farooq Abdullah, who succeeded his father as the leader of the National Conference in 1983. He though, resisted the Congress’ pressure initially and even turned down the Congress offer of alliance in the process thus going by the popular “anti-Congress” and “anti-Centre” mood in the Valley that had taken shape by then.

Not surprisingly, therefore, that the NC made Kashmiri Identity a major poll plank in the 1983 state elections! Dr Abdullah then invoked “Kashmiri nationalism”, and his party raised the demand for restoration of autonomy eroded during 1953-1975 period. The impact of this identity politics reaped him rich dividends and in the 1983 state elections, the NC bagged 46 seats as against the Congress-I’s 26 seats.
Yet, the National Conference could not sustain its anti-Congress politics for a long time and was finally forced to enter into an alliance with the Congress in 1986 after his government was dismissed on 2nd  July 1984 following the defection of twelve members of his party to the newly formed Awami National Conference. The Awami National Conference with G.M. Shah as the CM formed the government with the support of the Congress.

The GM Shah government did not last long either. Following unprecedented communal disturbances in the Valley, it was finally dismissed on 7th March 1986 and President’s rule was once again imposed in the state. The political climate in the state changed drastically thereafter. The Jamat-e-Islami, that was founded in 1942, but had remained an insignificant political force, re-emerged as a force and following the dismissal of Farooq Abdullah, it merged itself with a front of religious and political organisations – The United Muslim Front (UMF) in 1986. It was though banned and this led to the formation of the Muslim United Front (MUF) – to take on the National Conference in the electoral arena. It gave the call to Kashmiris to assert their right of self-determination and brought religion into the central space of the electoral politics of Kashmir.

The Rise of Kashmiri Insurgency

The road was paved for the insurgents to apply pressure and the state plunged into a crisis. The ensuing surge of militancy resulted in suspension of all political process in the state in early 1990. Dr. Abdullah had to quit and the Legislative Assembly was suspended. Even the political parties were forced to suspend all their activities till 1996. The upsurge of insurgency meant that the Assembly elections could not be held in the state for a decade till 1996 and the state was under President’s rule from 1990-1996. Even in the Lok Sabha elections of 1989, the turnout of voters in the militancy-hit state was a dismal 25.68 percent, while the next parliamentary election held in 1991 did not take place in the state. The only significant political development during this period was the formation of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in March 1993 to provide militancy a political face.

A comparatively high turnout of over 46 per cent voters marked the 1996 Lok Sabha elections in the state. The NC had opted out of the fray this time though and the contest was between the Congress, the Janata Dal, the BJP, Panthers Party, Awami League and the Congress (T).  However, the NC returned to contest and won the subsequent Assembly elections that year on the plank of ‘Autonomy’. It had promised to restore the  pre-1953 constitutional status of the state among other things. Soon after assuming power in the state it appointed the State Autonomy Committee to ‘examine and recommend measures for the restoration of autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir consistent with the Instrument of Accession, the Constitutional Application Order, 1950 and the Delhi Agreement of 1952’  but the Kashmir-centric recommendations of the Committee  report  made it controversial in Jammu and Ladakh regions.

The 1999 Parliament elections again saw a low turnout of people in face of the boycott call by the APHC.

BJP’s Growing Aspirations in J&K

The 2002 Assembly elections marked the end of almost two decades of rule of the NC in the state. It was replaced by the first People’s Democratic Party-Congress coalition government in the state. The elections witnessed an average turnout of about 44 percent but what made it different was that unlike in the past, the elections were hailed as free and fair by nearly all political parties even as Pakistan supported terror threat loomed large. As per the power sharing agreement between the PDP and the Congress, PDP’s Mufti Mohammed Sayeed became the CM for the first three years and was succeeded by the Congress’s Ghulam Nabi Azad for the remaining three years.

The NC though re-emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats in the 2008 Assembly elections in the 87 member House. It returned to power as the Congress with 17 seats, decided to support it this time. The PDP had got 21 seats though while the BJP too registered its best ever performance by winning 11 seats. The youngest of the Abdullah’s, Omar, was now the CM of the state.

This time though, an interesting battle seems to be on cards following the spectacular performance of the BJP in the 2014 general elections, winning three of the six parliamentary seats from the state. Can the Modi magic work in J&K too? The state is at a turning-point in its history.