Will Election Happen in J&K's Anantnag? Poll Body Decision Soon

The redrawn electoral map of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag constituency has come as a hurdle to political parties of Kashmir Valley.  The ongoing Lok Sabha election is the first major poll in Jammu and Kashmir since the scrapping of Article 370. The political parties busy grappling with the electoral map are now confronted with a new possibility -- the deferment of election in the constituency.

In Anantnag-Rajouri, mountains have driven a wedge through the redrawn constituency, dividing its main portion from Rajouri and Poonch. In between lies Shopian district, which has been made part of the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, creating a complete geographical disconnect between one end of the Anantnag constituency and the other.

Elections in Anantnag-Rajouri constituency are due on May 7. But they could be deferred because of challenges in connectivity and weather conditions. The Mughal road, which connects the two ends of the constituency, has been closed due to snowfall and some parties have contended that campaigning is difficult under the circumstances. The BJP and some other groups have demanded that the election be deferred because of the closure of the Mughal road.

The Election Commission is likely to take a decision shortly. The Commission has asked the J&K administration to submit a report on whether the election needs to be rescheduled because of the connectivity issues.

The National Conference and the PDP claim that the weather and road connectivity are being used as an excuse to derail election process.

"The letter from the Election Commission to the J&K administration is intriguing," said National Conference chief and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Parties that have demanded deferment of election are not even contesting, he pointed out.

"The People's Conference and the BJP are not contesting in Anantnag constituency. What do they have do with this election? They are proving that they are helping someone through the backdoor. If our views are ignored, it would mean that it is a well-planned conspiracy to fiddle with elections," he added.

The BJP says it is not their fault if the road has been shut due to snowfall.

"The Mughal road is open. I have myself travelled by the Mughal road. What is this excuse to defer elections?" said People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting from Anantnag.
 
"Through delimitation, they have already rigged elections... Didn't they know at the time of delimitation that unless a tunnel is built between the Valley and Pir Panjal commuting remains difficult for 6 months," she added.

"There is bad weather, heavy snowfall, connectivity through Mughal road from Rajouri-Poonch to the Valley is closed... what's the fault of BJP? There has been heavy snowfall on the Pir Panjal mountains," said Ravinder Raina, chief of J&K BJP.

While 21 candidates are in fray in Anantnag, the contest is a triangular one between Mian Altaf Ahmad of National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti of PDP and J&K Apni Party, believed to be backed by the BJP. The Congress and CPM are supporting the National Conference, which is part of the opposition bloc INDIA.