The Kashmir BDC Polls Are Of The BJP, By The BJP And For The BJP

It is an election like never before. Politicians are in jail and their parties are in disarray. Come October 24, Kashmir will see just one political party in the fray for the Block Development Council (BDC) polls: the Bhartiya Janta Party. The main regional contenders – National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Conference (PC), Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Movement and other smaller parties – have all boycotted the elections.

Congress also did a volte-face at the last minute and joined the regional group which has opted to stay away from elections. , This is the first time in the electoral history of Jammu and Kashmir that all regional parties have kept away from an election. “The Valley has been turned into a cage and they (the government of India) want us to contest elections,” said state Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir.