J-K polls: Congress pledges statehood, Rs 3,000 monthly for women heads of families

Unveiling his party's key guarantees for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced that the restoration of statehood would be top priority if the party was voted into power.

“Our commitment to Jammu and Kashmir is clear: we will restore statehood. Both the Upper and Lower Houses will be re-established here,” Kharge declared at a massive rally in Anantnag.

Kharge also highlighted the party’s focus on women-centric welfare schemes and promised that the female head of every household would receive Rs 3,000 per month via direct cash transfer, echoing successful initiatives implemented in other Congress-ruled states.

Further outlining the party's plans for Jammu and Kashmir, Kharge said 1 lakh government job vacancies would be filled immediately after the Congress formed the government with its pre-poll ally, the National Conference (NC).

He criticised the current administration for closing thousands of government schools and vowed to reopen them. Additionally, Kharge promised to provide 11 kg of rice to every family and health insurance coverage, similar to Rajasthan’s model, up to Rs 25 lakh.

“We will focus on reviving tourism, boosting manufacturing, creating jobs, and reopening schools,” he stated.

In a scathing attack on the current administration, Kharge pointed to allegations made by former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satyapal Malik, who accused the BJP-led Central government of corruption worth hundreds of crores.

The 90-seat Assembly will witness voting in three phases on 18 and 25 September and 5 November. The NC will contest 51 seats, while the Congress will field candidates for 32 seats. A 'friendly contest' will be held in five seats where both parties will compete against each other.

Jammu and Kashmir is set to hold Assembly elections nearly a decade after the last polls. The region, once a state, was downgraded to a Union Territory following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, which stripped it of its special status. This will be the first election since that major constitutional change and the withdrawal of statehood in 2019.

The last Assembly elections were held in November-December 2014, resulting in a coalition government formed by the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP.

PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became the chief minister in that government, which was seen as an unprecedented political alliance between two ideologically different parties.

After Sayeed's death on 7 January 2016 and a brief period of governor's rule, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti was sworn in as the next chief minister, though she has refused to contest the Assembly polls this time.

With the upcoming election, Jammu and Kashmir will not only see new leadership but also a potential reshaping of its political future, especially in light of the region’s altered status and long-standing demand for the restoration of statehood.