In the wake of the National Conference’s victory in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections in Kargil, Omar Abdullah, the party’s vice-president, has accused both the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of delaying elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Omar Abdullah took issue with CEC Rajiv Kumar’s recent statement that J&K elections would be considered “at an appropriate time.” He asserted that the primary factor behind these delays is fear. He suggested that instead of making independent decisions, the Election Commission appears to be taking directions from the BJP, which initially used the Raj Bhawan as cover and is now using the ECI as a shield.
Furthermore, Omar Abdullah questioned the security situation in J&K. He emphasized that if the region has indeed witnessed a turnaround since the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the people of J&K deserve their democratic right to form a government.
As the LAHDC victory shines a spotlight on political developments in the region, the delay in J&K elections continues to raise concerns about the state of democracy in the union territory.
