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European Journal of
Business & Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 301
Election Patterns and Dynamics of Party Politics in
Jammu and Kashmir
Misbah Rashid
PhD Scholar
Centre for Political Studies
JNU
ABSTRACT
Jammu and Kashmir is divided into three distinct regions which are historically,
culturally and geographically different from each other. The regional identities have
been active since pre independence period in these regions giving rise to regional
parties on the basis of regional identities. Since 1990’s the regional assertions have
been conjoined with religious assertions and the dynamics of the party system is shaped
by both these identities in contemporary times. In this paper I will show the party
presence in three distinct regions in state build up by these identities especially after
1990’s. I have taken up the two elections of post 1996 in the state to show the regional
and religious presence of parties in three regions. This paper is divided into three
sections. First section includes different regional parties present in the state and their
ideologies which then help them to form their social base in any particular region.
Second section will deal with the historical background to the rise of communal politics
in the state and the deinstitutionalization of state mechanism. This section will also
include 1996 elections and patterns of party politics in three regions. Third section will
undertake post 2002 elections which for the first time enabled the coalition government
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European Journal of
Business & Social Sciences
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ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 302
in state, the polarization of vote’s region vise and then the implications of this election
on state.
Key Words: Elections, regional parties, coalition government, polarization of votes
In 1990’s India underwent changes at the domestic level and the shift was not
only felt in political arena with the change of government at central level and mutations
in the centre state relations but in economic sphere as well. The liberalization and
federalization processes emerged in consonance to the capitalist principles which was
drift from the socialist policies adopted by Jawaharlal Nehru. On the other hand, with
the end of Congress system in 1989, growth of uncertainty prevailed as no one party
was able to gain clear majority. This resulted in the coalition politics at the centre. The
deep retrospection of India will reveal the events which were shaping Jammu and
Kashmir at that time.
From the partition between India and Pakistan in 1947, Kashmir has remained
the zone of conflict and strife. Before independence, all princely states except
Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir acceded to either India or Pakistan. Hyderabad was
integrated into India by armed action since it was situated in heart of India and couldn’t
have been given the option of staying independent. Jammu and Kashmir continues to be
the unresolved dispute and principal bone of contention between both the countries.
Civil rights activist, P.A. Sebastain is of the view that the Indian and Pakistani media
has reduced the Kashmir issue as the property dispute between two countries.1 Nearly
1 P. A. Sebastian, “Kashmir behind the Propaganda Curtain,” Economic and Political Weekly 31, no. 6
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European Journal of
Business & Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 03
March 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 303
63% of its territory is under Indian control and 37% under Pakistan’s control which also
includes less than 5% of an area known as Azad Kashmir. Area under Indian control is
further divided into three distinct regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh which are
marked of from each other by culture and geography. Diplomat Alexander Evans has
argued that Jammu and Kashmir (henceforth Kashmir) is today divided between India
and Pakistan, where Kashmir is the dominant unit in the state and Jammu plays a lesser
role.2 Approximately the population in Kashmir is 95% Muslim, while in Jammu it is
65% Hindu, 30% Muslims and 5% other. Ladakh is the least inhabited region of the
state with two districts of Leh (Buddhist dominated) and Kargil (Muslim dominated).
Aijaz Ashraf Wani argues “Jammu and Kashmir is a ‘created state’ which came
into existence by deliberate act of British imperialism, which for their colonial interests
clubbed three distinct regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh - with no commonality in
geography, history, ethnicity, culture and economy together.”3 Region thus marks the
basis of identity for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Due to this identification
regional assertions have started playing their part making the geographical bifurcation
complex. What complicates the situation more is the variation among political parties
where the line can be drawn to reveal the regional and communal bases of the parties.
There is a clear cut demarcation in the party bases where some parties exist in some
parts and others in other parts. There have been also some parties which have cut across
(1996): 319, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4403765.
2 Alexander Evans, “Kashmir: the Past Ten Years,” Asian Affairs 30, no. 1 (1999): 21,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/714041371.
3 A.A. Wani, “Ethnic Identities and the Dynamics of Regional and Sub-Regional Assertions in Jammu and
Kashmir,” Asian Ethnicity (2013): 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2013.764050.
