Kashmir polls: BJP's national agenda vs. Gupkar Alliance's reclaim cry

The maiden District Development Council elections in Jammu and Kashmir, being held in eight phases, are no doubt historic but they are also of existential consequence for the entire political spectrum in the Valley. The regional parties, which have dominated Valley politics for decades and have been finding themselves on a sticky wicket since the abrogation of Article 370, are trying to reclaim their ground. For the BJP, the elections are no less than a mission to break free Jammu and Kashmir politics from the Valley's dynasties and carve out an alternative reckoning.

Why is it a mission for BJP?

Finding a mission in the local body elections may seem far-fetched. But for the BJP, the first DDC polls in Jammu and Kashmir are like one. For some time now, the party has been desperately trying to build an alternative to the two prominent dynasties the Abdullahs and the Muftis. A couple of years ago, it tried to push Sajjad Lone, Engineer Rashid, and now this is an open secret that it is backing Altaf Bukhari's Apni Party. The Apni Party is being projected as a third front initiative while the opposition in the Valley refers to it as the 'King's party'.

The local polls are an opportunity for the BJP to spring up new faces that can then be groomed for the Assembly prospectus. The conditions for this are not unfavourable. Compared to just a few years ago when it was unimaginable that the BJP could have a cadre in the Valley, the party has been gradually getting members into its fold. Even though some have been targeted by the terrorists to instill fear, new ones are not hard to be found. The Panchayat elections, which were boycotted by the regional parties the National Conference

( With inputs from IANS )