CLEAR STANCE
Although it is the prerogative of Election Commission of India to take the final call on holding elections in any part of the country but Bharatiya Janata Party being the outfit in power should also clear its stance over the probability of conduct of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, because despite the claims of two senior national BJP general secretaries BL Santosh (Organizations) and Tarun Chug, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir that Assembly elections will be held in the Union Territory in April-May, there was no mention about the same in the BJP National Executive meeting being held in New Delhi as it has been reported that a document circulated in the aforesaid meeting showed only four States including Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Karnataka as election bound where polls are due between March-May with no mention of J&K. This means that as per BJP high command the chances of early elections in J7K are bleak and whatever is said in this regard has to be seen with fresh perspective. In the recent time, the local BJP leadership has time and again asked its cadre to gear up for early polls but the scenario seems to be different on ground as it was clear from agenda circulated at the aforementioned meeting in New Delhi that the BJP didn’t consider J&K as election bound, at least till April-May. Going by the aforesaid facts, it seems that the local BJP leaders are also in the dark as far as the status of Assembly polls in J&K is concerned. One thing is sure that J&K will definitely go for polls one day because the LG’s administration cannot remain for an indefinite period of time but when these will be held has once again become a mystery as the BJP National Executive meeting has dropped a hint for one and all. It is however matter to ponder that when all other states and Union Territories have set schedules of their election cycles why the men who matter are taking J&K for granted as there is no concrete information about when this Union Territory will have polls and when the Assembly will be elected to run the affairs as it is a hard fact that LG’s administration is a temporary provision and popular government the full time resolution to run the affairs of any UT. The BJP being in power should not keep the people of J&K in the dark by changing stance on holding elections and must come forward with authentic information as people are desperately waiting to install a government of their own.