Irrespective of how the BJP fairs in Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully turned the tables on Pakistan in his frequent visits to the state, ending the campaign with his election rally at Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar on 8 December.
No Indian Prime Minister has visited J&K so frequently – six times in the first six months of his tenure. It does not matter whether the crowds in Sher-e-Kashmir stadium were brought in by BJP workers or whether those already attending the rally were rather lackluster in their response.
What matters is that an Indian Prime Minister had addressed an election rally in the heart of Srinagar since the outbreak of militancy a quarter century ago. What matters is that this was the first time when someone had ‘dared’ to organize a function at Sher-e-Kashmir stadium for the first time since 1983, a point cleverly highlighted by Modi himself.
