NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 200-plus days in office got a warning on Tuesday though it fell short of a political jolt. Results for Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections rejected his plans to repeal Article 370 and with it key constitutional privileges that protect Kashmiri Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs against Delhi-backed cultural and economic encroachments.

From the month-long election, in which Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had embarked on ‘Mission 44’ to win an improbable majority in the 87-seat J&K assembly, it won 25 races. Its vote share was the highest with 23 per cent ahead by a whisker against the People’s Democratic Party, which nevertheless got 28 seats, the highest in the election.

Although it got twice the number of deputies than it had in the previous house, the BJP’s gains came primarily from communal polarisation engendered in Hindu-dominated constituencies of Jammu.

BJP gains ground but loses bid to rule the state

PDP and BJP will be looking for allies, to rule and to help rule, respectively. But the die is cast as far as the BJP’s Mission 44 goes as no other electoral player in Kashmir has the appetite for tinkering with the constitution to start with.

With 28 seats, the PDP of Mehbooba Mufti needs at least 16 more to get a simple majority. The Congress with 12 and National Conference’s 15 seats will be watched along with seven that belong to the “others” category, including a communist.

Article 370 cannot be repealed by the Indian parliament unless the J&K assembly also endorses the move.

In the predominantly tribal state of Jharkhand, which went on a month-long election with Kashmir, the BJP clinched a grudging simple majority with the support of a local ally. The alliance scraped through with 42 seats in the 81-member house.

Muffled warnings from the two states were yet interpreted as praise for Mr Modi.

As the picture became clear, BJP president Amit Shah told reporters at a specially called media conference: “I want to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, because his government’s work and people’s love for him is a big reason for our victory… I believe that voters have endorsed Modi’s style of governance.”

Senior party leaders said the victory is a clear vote for Modi. “Look at the case of Jharkhand. The party has ruled the state for the longest period since its formation in 2000. Had it not been for Modi, we could not have gone to polls with promises of good governance and development,” The Express quoted a senior party leader as saying.

Since coming to power earlier this year, the BJP has had a mixed bag of fortunes in state polls. Kashmir and Jharkhand results could be the turning point.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2014