Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, 1983

Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, 1983

17 November 1983 to 24 November 1983

all 75 seats in Legislative Assembly 38 seats needed for a majority Turnout 73.2%   First party Second party   Leader Farooq Abdullah Party JKN INC Last election 47 11 Seats won 46 26 Seat change 1 15   Third party Fourth party   Party BJP JKNPP Last election - 4 Seats won - 3 Seat change - 2

Chief Minister before election Farooq Abdullah JKN Elected Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah JKN

Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held over October 1983.^[1][2][3] The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was appointed Chief Minister.

Background

1983 Jammu and Kashmir elections cemented the political polarisation on religious lines after Indira Gandhi campaigned aggressively in Jammu and Kashmir state, raising the bogey of a 'Muslim invasion' in the Jammu region because of the Resettlement Bill,passed by the-then NC government,which gave Kashmiris who left for Pakistan between 1947 and 1954 the right to return, reclaim their properties and resettle.^[4]

The issue was opposed by Indira Gandhi and she got President Zail Singh to seek a presidential reference, despite the Act being passed by the Jammu Kashmir assembly twice in 1982.

Result

Indira Gandhi's strategy yielded dividends in the 1983 state elections and the Congress won 26 , while the NC secured 46. Barring an odd constituency, all victories of the Congress were in the Jammu and Ladakh regions, while NC swept the Kashmir Valley. The 1983 poll set the tone for any future Congress-NC alliance - the Congress allotting itself seats mainly in the Jammu and Ladakh regions, while the NC limiting itself to Kashmir Valley.

References

1. http://www.countercurrents.org/qazi210111.htm
2. 1983 elections
3. Statistical Report on General Election, 1983, The Election Commission of India.
4. Poke Me: BJP mustn't play the 'Jammu card' in next month's J&K elections