The verdict is out. The BJP has won national lections withan overwhelming majority- it has 300 of them on its own and combined strengthof the National Democratic Alliance is veering around in the Lok Sabha that hasa total of 543 seats . Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to begin his newinnings in not so ideal times for the country despite the fact that he has madethe world to change its ways of looking at India. The country is in the majorinternational discourse. There is a grudging feeling about its economicprogress and the resoluteness with which it has stayed democratic courseagainst all odd has not gone without appreciation. This is what many prefer tocall Modi’s India. There are fault lines staring at every step within thenation, and the verdict while having shown complete saffron colour in mostparts of the country, it has also shown political. Ideological and economicdivisions.
How it plays out in Jammu and Kashmir where voters havegiven a split verdict. The Bhartiya Janta Party has reigned supreme in theHindu plains and the cold desert region of Ladakh. That the victory margins ofthe BJP candidates this time were huge is rooted in the fact that a volcano waswaiting to erupt, and it erupted. There was so much of anger amongst the peoplewho voted more than 70 per cent in the two constituencies of Jammu that theygave vent to it in their votes. Their choice of Modi in the elections wasdeliberate. Since Modi is the iconic figure of the saffron party, it won. Thereis no other reason. In Jammu region the BJP sought votes in the name of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi in Municipal polls too. That means that, unless or untilthey feature Modi in their campaign, Jammu cannot hope to win even the Municipalpolls.
This has a great advantage that Jammu stands solidly behindone leader as it trusts his abilities to deliver on the promises. No doubtmuscular narrative formed core of the campaign that swept the minds of thevoters who believed that Pakistan that has flashed almost permanently on theirradar as their tormentor has been taught a lesson by Modi, but there wassomething more than that too. It was that Jammu wanted to avenge its assumedhumiliation in all sectors, and simultaneously make a point that it has linkedits future with the rising political power of the country.
The flip side however is that such an attitude in theelections makes the political party that swamped all other rivals to take thevoters for granted. Jammu has had an experience of it, quite a bitter one. Thisis also a way of not taking the past into calculations and blind faith in thefuture. How far the voters were correct in doing so would be known in the days,weeks and months to come. For the time being Jammu plains have turned saffron.
Jammu’s hilly areas have not been that unanimous in goingwith the saffron party. For two reasons – one the demography of the hills whereMuslims dominate, and the Hindus who have their own problem of identity crisis,voted differently. Their task was made easier by the National Conference andPDP in the elections. This absence made the people to look forward to thedivisions as a solution rather thanbridging the same. Congress, in any case, fought these electionshalf-heartedly. This has serious repercussions in the future elections,especially when the Assembly polls would be announced and held in the state.Congress is nearing its burial site because of its divisions and groupism. WhenNC and PDP and Congress, though quite decimated in the aftermath of the generalelections, will fight Assembly elections on their respective symbols, they would be staring at the repeat of the 2014 in hills of Jammu, where ifthey fight jointly can win at least 10 seats out of 13 in Chenab Valley and Pirpanjal region.
Kashmir has voted for National Conference in theparliamentary elections. The initial review of the segment wise voting hasgiven a clear edge to the party of Abdullah’s. Maintaining that picture is notsufficient for National Conference to form government on its own. The votingpatterns and the public mood would be different in the Assembly elections. Andby the time the state goes to Assembly polls, much of the anger that thevoters, howsoever small their number was in the parliamentary polls, wouldhave faded , if not gone altogether.Then, there are forces with theirindividual following and political experience that sided with NationalConference or its rivals, particularlyin north Kashmir, that will also take their share of votes. Where does it place the Kashmir politics? Itis time to ponder.