Will Kashmir’s mainstream political leaders stand against Modi’s plan to carry out delimitation?

Nearly two years after the Union government scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370, carved Ladakh out and downgraded both entities into union territories, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat with a group of mainstream leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 in New Delhi.

The meeting was the first public engagement between the Union government and mainstream political leadership of Jammu and Kashmir, most of whom had been jailed by authorities after August 5, 2019 and derisively referred to as the ‘Gupkar Gang’ by Home Minister Amit Shah.

Days before the high-profile meeting, buzz began to build about the Centre potentially restoring statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. But the June 24 meeting made it clear that Modi had another aim before statehood: Delimitation.

“The Central government is keen to restore an elected government in Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest. The Prime Minister has talked about an early delimitation process. That means they are looking at following that up with Assembly elections,” former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and senior National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was quoted saying following the meeting. Abdullah was one of the 14 Jammu and Kashmir mainstream leaders who participated in the three and a half hour long meeting…

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