POST-370 POLITICAL REALIGNMENTS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR: CENTRALIsATION, MANAGED DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY, AND ELECTORAL POLITICS

This study examines the 2024 Assembly elections in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution which had enshrined the autonomy of the previously-existing state of Jammu and Kashmir. It contends that the polls did not signal democratic normalisation but rather reflected political participation under conditions of intensified centralisation and reduced autonomy. Instead of treating voter turnout as evidence of democratic restoration, this analysis conceptualises the ‘post-370’ elections as mechanisms of managed democratic legitimacy operating within an increasingly centralised political order. Drawing on electoral data and qualitative analysis, the study argues that voters utilised the ballot to express grievances, demand local accountability, and navigate restricted political choices. Collectively, the resurgence of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, the collapse of the People’s Democratic Party, the regionally confined hegemony of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the survival of constituency-based actors illustrate a structural reconfiguration of electoral politics rather than systemic normalisation. These findings are then situated within broader academic discussions on democratic governance, subnational political dynamics, and the complexities of electoral participation in conflict-sensitive regions. Ultimately, the study concludes that while elections in post-370 Jammu and Kashmir remain deeply meaningful to the electorate, they operate within narrow institutional boundaries, functioning primarily as instruments of symbolic representation and procedural legitimacy rather than effective mechanisms of democratic correction.