Maintaining ‘regional balance’ to be tough task for new govt: Experts

With J&K all set to see a newly-elected government in the coming days, experts and leaders said it would be a tough task for the new government to maintain a “regional balance” in the UT. The BJP, which bagged 29 seats from the Jammu region, won’t be part of the government.

The National Conference (NC)-Congress alliance secured a majority in the J&K Assembly elections, the results of which were declared recently. The alliance won 49 of the 90 seats in the UT.

While the NC, which won 42 seats in the UT, swept the Kashmir region, the BJP performed well in the Jammu region, claiming 29 seats. The Congress did not perform well and won only six seats - five in the Kashmir region and one in the Jammu region - in the UT.

As government formation nears, experts say the biggest task would be to maintain a balance between the two regions as Jammu’s Hindu-dominated areas overwhelmingly voted for the BJP.

“It is a challenge for the National Conference- Congress alliance and also for Omar Abdullah,” Jammu-based Professor Rekha Chowdhary told The Tribune.

She said the present situation was similar to the 2014 Assembly elections when the Jammu region voted for the BJP. However, two parties got the mandate in Kashmir at that time.

“It was not possible for any party to form the government at that time without including any party from Jammu. So, we saw the PDP and the BJP coming together and forming the government,” she said.

This time, people in Kashmir gave mandate to a single party and the alliance can form the government, Chowdhary said.

“Even if the NC includes some Hindu faces, who won the elections from Chenab and Pir Panjal region, in the government, it will have no one from the main Jammu belt in the government,” she said.

Chowdhary said: “The NC will work it out and maintain a balance between the two regions who have voted differently.”

Political commentator Zafar Choudhary told The Tribune that this had been a consistent challenge for the regional parties - NC and PDP - ever since Jammu’s Hindu-dominated areas voted for the BJP and ignored Congress.

“Representation to the Jammu region was one of the reasons behind the PDP aligning with the BJP in 2015. After 2019, it became difficult for any regional party,” he said.

He said the existence of the Upper House, Legislative Council, “could have been helpful in this situation to give adequate representation to Jammu.”

Captain Anil Gaur, an expert of political matters, said: “With little or no representation to Jammu, it will be interesting to see the pace of development in the region, especially far-off mountainous areas.”

“Allocation of funds for different projects will be another thing to be seen,” he said.

He said as the Congress got only one seat in the Jammu region, the party would not be in a position to demand much for areas like Kathua, Samba, Jammu and Udhampur where the BJP did well.

Congress leaders also shared similar sentiments. Veteran Congress leader and former J&K Governor Karan Singh on Wednesday said the BJP has drawn a blank in Kashmir and the Congress a virtual blank in Jammu. “There was thus a clear and sharp political divide between the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir, which will be a challenge for the new government to overcome administratively,” he said.

The incoming Chief Minister Omar Abdullah too is accepting its new challenge. On Wednesday, Omar said he was “acutely aware of the fact that there is a sharp divide between Kashmir and Jammu.”

“The new government will have a major responsibility of giving a sense of ownership to the people of Jammu,” he said.