Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir has seen eight terror attacks in the last six months in which 10 security personnel and four terrorists were killed. Next-door Kishtwar reported the deaths of two Indian Army personnel on September 14 even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed voters of the region.

As campaigning for the first phase of Assembly elections in J&K came to a close on Monday, opposition parties blamed the BJP for the rising terror graph in Chenab Valley while the saffron party hit back at “terror apologists”.

Campaigning in Kishtwar and Ramban on Monday, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah cautioned that terrorism would return to the region if the National Conference-Congress is voted to power.

“If Omar Abdullah and Congress, who opposed the hanging of Afzal Guru, form a government in J&K, then there will be stone-pelting again, bullets will be fired, funeral procession of terrorists will be taken out and there will be attacks on the Amarnath Yatra again,” Shah said.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, meanwhile, questioned why the Jammu division has been witnessing a resurgence of terror in last few months. The party has fielded Mehraj Malik from the Doda seat.

“Under whose rule did the Pulwama attack happen? Under whose rule are our Army men getting martyred at the border? When the PM gives a speech here about finishing off terrorism, the same day we get to know about the martyrdom of two of our jawans. You can’t brush it under the carpet; the reality is visible on ground,” Sanjay Singh told News18 as AAP supporters shouted slogans of ‘Inquilab’ through the town’s bus stand area.

Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, however, said terrorism has not come in the way of elections or dampened enthusiasm among voters. “I have full trust in police and security forces that they will keep terrorists at bay. Terrorists have not managed to make worthwhile damage to human life. Of course, we have lost Army men, but by sacrificing themselves, security forces have kept civilians safe,” Azad said while carrying out a road show through the lanes of his home town Doda.

What are the Main Election Issues Here?

For voters, issues like employment, domicile and educational opportunities dominate conversations. Local resident Azher Malik, who supports the National Conference, rues the lack of employment opportunities in J&K, which was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh – in 2019 when the central government revoked the erstwhile state’s special status.

“Every year, there used to be vacancies for police recruitment. Now, all of that has stopped. Around 6 lakh people applied when 4,000 vacancies were announced. Even people from outside the state have applied, so where will our kids go?” he said.

Nisar Gattoo, also a resident of Doda, questions why J&K is not benefitting from its resources. “You all must have heard about the lithium deposits found in Reasi. What happened to that deposit? How is J&K benefiting from that natural resource? Why is no one asking these questions?”

Asim Hashmi, a District Development Council, asks similar questions. “Our state has been economically wrecked. No recruitment of teachers is happening at higher secondary schools. Passport verification is being denied on flimsy grounds. If anyone in the family ever had a police record, then verification needed for the government job is being denied.”

Reservations for Pahadis and Gujjar Bakarwals is also an issue prominently highlighted by the BJP. While the Gujjars of Rajouri and Poonch welcomed the move, the ones migrating from South Kashmir to Doda pointed out the difficulties in implementation.

“We have heard of reservation, but received no benefits. Officers ask for documents like state subject paper, ration card etc. We are khanabadosh (nomadic) people. Where will we get these from?” says Mohammed Gamin as he trekked from South Kashmir to Doda with his family.

The voters of Chenab Valley, which includes Doda, Kishtwar, Banihal and Ramban, will in the first phase of Assembly elections on September 18. The delimitation has carved out new seats in Kishtwar and Doda.

As the BJP hopes to improve its numbers, the National Conference-Congress alliance is its biggest challenger though AAP and DPAP could emerge as the ‘X’ factor on some seats.

Voters are raring to go, this being the first Assembly election in J&K since 2014. “Bureaucrats are autocratic. For 10 years, we have suffered. We need our own representatives. It is a right given to us by the Constitution. Everyone will vote,” says social activist Hasan Babar, summing up the public mood in a former state where voting percentage has often been in single digits.