Letters: Ballot over bullet

Apropos the editorial "Lessons from two elections" (December 24), the results of the Assembly elections in Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir are important for many reasons. Fourteen years after its formation, Jharkhand is finally going to get a stable government. Meanwhile, in Jammu & Kashmir, despite boycott calls from separatists, people have shown their faith in the democratic process of the country and chosen the ballot over the bullet. The results in both the states are not a victory for any party, but in real terms are a victory for the democracy in one state and stability in another.

The fractured mandate in Jammu & Kashmir has also shown the deep fault line between both the regions. The only possible solution to bridge that gap is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peoples Democratic Party should come together to form a government and bury their ideological differences. They should also agree on a common minimum programme for peace and development in the state. The BJP's inability to get a single seat in the valley shows the distrust of the non-Hindu voters in the saffron party, which maybe because of some recent events. The party needs to introspect this if it wants to become a pan-India entity.

Reya Amrawat Jodhpur

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