New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor's power to nominate five members to the assembly has sparked a massive row ahead of tomorrow's counting of votes. The Congress, its ally National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti's Peoples' Democratic Party have contended that providing such powers to the Lieutenant Governor is a subversion of the people's mandate as it will be used to benefit the BJP. Their voice has been strengthened by the exit polls, which while predicting a fractured mandate, has maintained that the Congress-National Conference alliance is far ahead in the race.
The BJP, which went solo in the election, has never ruled Jammu and Kashmir on its own. After the 2014 election, it had formed government with the PDP, and pulled out of the alliance in 2018. The next year, it had scrapped the Constitution's Article 370 which gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status and divided the state into two Union Territories. This is the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade.
The non-BJP parties now contend that the special power granted to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha gives the BJP a shot at forming government in the erstwhile state.
Delimitation had levelled the ground to an extent for the BJP, with Jammu region getting 43 seats against Kashmir's 47. Five more MPs could give the BJP a huge advantage, the parties say.
After the Delimitation Commission increased the number of seats in the Union Territory, a fresh rule had granted the LG powers to nominate five members - two women, two Kashmiri Pandits and a displaced person from the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) - to the Legislative Assembly, thus increasing the total number of seats to 95 and the majority mark to 48 - up from 46.
These five nominated MLAs "will hold full legislative powers and privileges, just like elected representatives," the order had said.
The Congress had vehemently opposed the move, saying "Any such move is an assault on democracy, the people's mandate, and the fundamental principles of the Constitution".
The National Conference has said if the nomination happens, it would go to the Supreme Court.
"What they want to do, I do not know. However, if they do it, we will go to the Supreme Court. What is the point in making the government, if the Lord Sahib remains here? We have to fight against all this," party patriarch Farooq Abdullah has said.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti said giving power to the Lieutenant Governor to nominate five members to the assembly was a "brazen pre-result rigging" of the polls.
"All of the five MLAs nominated by LG are BJP members or associated with the party. Brazen pre result rigging & shameful manipulation," she posted on X, formerly Twitter.