Massive public rallies where people passionately chant the name of their favourite leaders, the bike rallies wherein enthusiastic youth ride in the streets and lanes in full support of their favourite leader and the massive reposts and sharing of content in favour of favourite candidates – all this indicates that the festival of democracy has reached Kashmir. All prominent political leaders are participating in these rallies and online campaigns making it one of the most widely spread election campaigns of all time.
There is tough competition in almost all three parliamentary seats in Kashmir. Newer permutations and combinations are taking over every single day. The estimates are changing with every sunset and sunshine. One day it seems a particular political party is emerging stronger and the very next day its opponent appears stronger. No one can say with firm resoluteness who the winner is. This is the beauty of democracy. This deafening silence on the identity of the winner.
This election, it must be said, is also very youthful in the fact that the average age of the contenders is perhaps the lowest. In Srinagar parliamentary constituency, both National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have fielded candidates who are in their late thirties. In other states like Karnataka political parties have opted for youthful exuberance over veteran candidates. This trend is keeping in view the complexion of the voter base in India which is tilting more and more towards the youth. The 18- and 19-year-olds are the next target audience for the political parties in India.
It is a joy to watch Kashmir coming back to normalcy. Gone are the days of violence and uncertainty. Now there is due and definite progress being made on every front. One cannot deny the role played by the worthy Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to this end. LG Manoj Sinha has developed a culture of honest, black-and-white transparency in administrative transactions and spawned a thought process of positivity. The youth certainly feel empowered and feel that their voices are being heard and do not land in a vacuum. May this election be a harbinger of peace and prosperity in the entire union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
