As J&K Completes 5 Years Of Central Rule, Many Wait Eagerly To Vote

Many in Jammu and Kashmir wait eagerly to vote because no place has suffered so much for the right to vote as Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir completed five years under central rule today - the second-longest period of Presidential rule in the country since Independence. Across India, Central rule has been imposed on states 125 times. Jammu and Kashmir has gone under direct Central rule eight times since 1977. It is also the place which had the longest stint of Central rule - over six years.

The last assembly elections were held in 2014, which threw a fractured mandate.

Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party and the BJP formed alliance after agreeing on a common minimum agenda. The alliance, however, collapsed on June 19, 2018 after the BJP withdrew its support to the PDP-led coalition.

In August 2019, the Centre revoked J&K's semi-autonomous position under Article 370 of the Constitution and stripped it of statehood. Since then, no assembly election has been held in the new Union Territory.