Repeated postponements have made bypoll in Anantnag, a seat held by Mehbooba Mufti, the longest-delayed election in India in over two decades.
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha bypolls to the prestigious Anantnag seat in the Kashmir valley have been put off repeatedly since April 2017, with state authorities citing security fears to state that the atmosphere was not conducive for holding the elections.
The last time state authorities wrote to the Election Commission in June — days before governor’s rule was declared in Jammu and Kashmir — the chief secretary and DGP had listed several reasons for this.
The most significant of the reasons — details of which have become known for the first time — was a 42 per cent jump in recruitment to terrorist ranks in the state since 2017.
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In 2017, 127 youths were recruited into the terrorist fold, the communication says. It goes on to add that this number had increased by 42 per cent by 3 June but does not provide an exact figure.
Recruitment in south Kashmir, state authorities say, is the worst, with up to 85 per cent of recruits coming from the region. In their communication, the state authorities had termed the recruitment into terrorist ranks as “alarming”, ThePrint has learnt from highly-reliable sources in the Central government.
Days after this communication, when the BJP decided to pull out of its alliance with the Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, senior party leader Ram Madhav had said, “Terrorism, violence and radicalisation have risen and fundamental rights of the citizens are under danger in the Kashmir Valley.”
Other reasons
The other factors making the situation in the region too fragile and challenging to hold elections was a threat to political activists there, which, the communication says, has had a demoralising effect on political parties in south Kashmir.
Five incidents of attacks on police personnel that led to deaths of two Special Police Officers (SPOs) in Anantnag and Pulwama were also cited.
The communication also says there has been an increase in grenade attacks in the state.
Of the 36 such attacks, 26 had taken place in south Kashmir, says the letter, which was part of the confidential communication between state authorities and the central government.
ThePrint had sought to know the official communication on the matter between the EC, the state and central governments earlier this year.
The information had been declined by the poll panel citing sections of the RTI Act, which allow withholding of information that could affect the sovereignty and integrity of India.
An elusive bypoll
The Lok Sabha seat in Anantnag, which has become a hotbed for militancy in recent years, fell vacant in June 2016 after Mufti vacated it to become the chief minister. Due to the repeated postponements, Anantnag has become the longest-delayed election in the country in over two decades.
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The EC is bound to conduct bypolls in a parliamentary seat within six months of it falling vacant. According to Section 151 (A)b of the Representation of People’s Act, however, this limit can be exceeded if the poll panel and the central government are convinced that the situation is not ripe for an election.
The EC had postponed the bypoll in Anantnag twice — in April and May 2017.
In November 2017, it again sought to hold the by-election but a ground assessment found the situation was not conducive. Earlier this year, the EC again sought to assess the situation but as details of the communication by state authorities reveals, it was again seen as too fragile.
Escalation in violence across the state
While the state government announced the schedule for the municipal and panchayat polls last month, bypolls in Anantnag were left out of the announcement.
Amid an escalation of violence across the state, key parties like the PDP and National Conference have decided to boycott the panchayat polls next month.
No decision has yet been taken over the bypoll in Anantnag yet, but it is entirely possible that with just months to go for the Lok Sabha elections next year, the seat could remain vacant until then.
Sources in the government said that with the appointment of Dilbagh Singh as the new chief of police of the state, it is expected that an internal review will be done again, and the assessment communicated to the EC.
With the NC and the PDP having decided to boycott the municipal and panchayat polls, unclear what purpose will be served holding them.