Two months ago on 17 October, the centre amended the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Raj Act, 1989, to facilitate the setting up of District Development Councils, the members of which will be directly elected by voters in the Union Territory. The move marked the implementation of the entire 73rd Amendment Act in the Union Territory. The DDCs of each district shall have 14 constituencies with 14 seats for respective constituencies. This system effectively replaces the District Planning and Development Boards in all districts, and will prepare and approve district plans and capital expenditure. The key feature of DDC elections is that the DDCs will have elected representatives from each district. The term of the DDCs will be five years
The coming of the DDC election in the UT not only forced the politicians of the valley to ponder upon participating in it but also lured the politically passionate people of the valley into envisaging betterment of the valley by directly electing candidates of their choice. The elections have witnessed a number of independent candidates challenging the mainstream parties’ candidates.
After the abrogation of Article 370, DDC elections are the first sign of a political movement in the valley. The enthusiasm of the people for these elections is driven by emotions. Seeing an opportunity for contesting elections and voting after a long period of silence imposed since August 5, people who were denied basic rights during the months of curfew felt they could find a voice in these elections. The candidates also vindicated the people by campaigning at village level and also by paying visits to their dwellings. While candidates regard the elections as a base for development, what actually spurred people to vote was the nature of this election as the first if its kind.
The destitution that people felt after August 5 was a result of the deceptive nature of the previous governing regimes in the valley. However, many people also voted in the DDC elections out of anger at the scrapping of the special status of J&K. Ghulam Ganaie, 70, who lives in Ganastan constituency in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, is an old National Conference (NC) supporter. After voting in the DDC polls, he said, “The NC will bring back Article 370. We have been told by our party that if we come out and our members succeed, they will fight to get Article 370 back.”
A few cases were reported from some villages where people were unaware of the nature of the election but were still out voting. In Ganastan constituency, Fatima, in her late 80s, walked with the support of her granddaughters to the polling booth. She was not sure what the election was for — the DDC or for vacant panchayat seats. She said that “political workers forced her out of her home to vote”.
Another group of people voted to keep BJP away from the valley, no matter what the elections were about. Manzoor Ahmed Mir, 48, said, “I would vote for anyone, even independent candidates, to keep the BJP away.”
Among Independent candidates, Somya Sadaf was in the news for being originally from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Sadaf crossed the border more than 10 years ago with her husband Abdul Majeed Bhat, who was a Kupwara resident who went to PoK in the 1990s to receive arms training. He and Somya were married in Muzaffarabad in 2002. In 2010, they decided to sign up for a rehabilitation scheme launched by the then J&K government for formers militants who wished to return.
Sadaf is fighting as an independent candidate from Drugmulla constituency of Kupwara district. She said that ever since her arrival, she has been working for the empowerment of local women under different government-run schemes. “Not only my husband and in-laws but the locals encouraged me to contest DDC elections,” she said, adding that if she manages to win, her focus would be to press for the redressal of grievances of Pakistani females who are 75 in number in Kupwara district. The cases cited above give us an insight into how people react to politics in the valley. Their concerns range from ambitions of restoring the special status of J&K to serving local people through good governance.

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Sheikh Aatif