Tourism growth, job promises and BJP’s hope on Kashmir voters
BJP is trying to open their account in the assembly elections of 2024 in Kashmir valley and are hoping that the growth in tourism sector would fetch them votes.
Besides the security issues, tourism growth has been a major focus story of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led central government in Kashmir ever since the revocation of the special status. The party has been boasting of the increasing number of tourists in the past three years, a defining feature of normalcy, giving a fillip to the sector that contributes about 7% of the GSDP in the union territory.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first election campaign rally for the party in Doda on Saturday, said, “We are committed to make J&K terror free region and a paradise for tourists,” Modi said, while stressing that J&K will become a ‘global film destination’.
More than 53.8 lakh tourists visited Kashmir Valley in the previous two years. These include 27.1 lakh in 2023 (apart from 4.45 lakh Amarnath pilgrims) and 26.7 lakh in 2022 as against 12.67 lakh in 2016, 12.28 lakh in 2017 and 8.3 lakh in 2018.
BJP is trying to open their account in the assembly elections of 2024 in Kashmir valley and are hoping that the growth in tourism sector would fetch them votes.
“People have started liking PM Modi and his work...The common people here are now living a comfortable life. You can seek opinion from tourist sector, hoteliers, labourers and shopkeepers, how much progress is happening today and this is what we are going before people,” said Sofi Yousuf, the party’s candidate from Sirgufwara-Bijbehara constituency.
But have the growing tourist numbers contributed to significant jobs and economic growth, the experts have been sceptical. The stakeholders said that the business was down, unemployment rate was increasing and GSDP growth was declining.
Ejaz Ayoub, a banker who is an economic researcher at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar, said that the increasing number of tourists was not reflecting correspondingly in the economic and GSDP growth – 57% of which was dependent on the service sector, 26-27% on industry and 17-18% on agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors.
“The unemployment rate in J&K is one of the highest in the country. The economy appears to have been divided in two segments - the upper niche where the hotelier, exporter or contractor is growing, while the bigger part includes MSMEs, retailers and hawkers, who are seeing a constant decline in business,” Ayoub said.
While the BJP seems to have understood the gaps and its new manifesto, though more tilted towards Jammu division, has again promised many economy and tourism centered initiatives like developing Dal Lake as a world- class tourist destination, promoting water sports, setting up an amusement park in Tattoo Ground in Srinagar and enhancing the infrastructure.
“To support existing businesses and small traders, a new policy will be drafted to address the issues facing 7,000 existing MSME units in Jammu and Kashmir so that access to land and public utilities will be addressed while initiating steps to resolve the problems of MSME units and workers,” the manifesto promises.
It has also promised of generating 5 lakh employment opportunities in the region.
The party has promised to initiate Project Safar covering major Muslim shrines and mosques from Rajouri-Poonch to Kashmir, including revered shrines such as Charar-i-Sharief, Hazratbal and the spiritually significant Khwaja Naqshband Sahib shrine.
Jammu and Kashmir is going to polls in three phases starting from September 18. It is the first assembly election in 10 years particularly after the special status of the region was revoked in 2019 and it was bifurcated in two union territories.
The decision had caused much upheaval and anger particularly in Kashmir valley.
The BJP, which is yet to win a seat in the Valley, has fielded only 19 candidates in Kashmir out of 47, leaving many seats vacant for ‘friendly allies’.
After the abrogation of Article 370, three BJP candidates won — one each from Srinagar, Pulwama and Kupwara districts — in the DDC elections, giving the party hope of improving fortunes.
“We are confident in not less than five out of the 19 seats where we are fighting in Kashmir. The people will vote for the party’s development initiatives, the growth of tourism and the smart city project. People want a change and there are a lot of silent voters who are pro-BJP,” said Aijaz Hussain, the former DDC member and the party’s candidate for Lal Chowk constituency, the business hub of the city.
However, local tourism players are not convinced. “Tourism did improve but it was developed to serve the propaganda of BJP to point out to the rest of the country that ‘see what we did in Kashmir’. What else was done here? Why has unemployment increased? Why is drug abuse increasing? Why don’t people raise their voice over their day to day issues, because they know that they will be jailed within no time,” said a prominent houseboat owner over Dal Lake, not wishing to be identified.