India, June 25 -- The recent euphoria over a fresh delimitation exercise to restructure the lopsided constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir quickly dissipated as the Centre denied media reports that Home Minister Amit Shah is considering such a move. Since then, Governor Satya Pal Malik has earned the public ire for asserting that the Government has no intention of scrapping Articles 370 and 35-A; his recommendation that the time is ripe for talks with separatist Hurriyat leaders has further inflamed some passions. Perhaps these are straws in the wind that suggest some changes are in the offing.

In a little-noted development, on June 16, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Jammu & Kashmir unit passed a resolution seeking fresh delimitation of ...