The two separatist groups are set to marginalise Apni Party and Sajjad Lone
By Sant Kumar Sharma
It is nowadays rare to see National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti agreeing on anything. They speak in different voices, often against each other and in stridently condemnatory terms. On the release of Baramulla MP Sheikh Rashid (alias Er Rashid), the traditional rivals seemed on the same page using similar accusations against him.
Both Omar and Mehbooba insinuated that Rashid was a creation of agencies (read intelligence agencies) meant to harm their parties. They also accused Rashid of being in cahoots with the BJP whom he was trying to help. But the very first thing Rashid challenged on coming out of Tihar jail was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's narrative of “Naya Kashmir'' (a changed Kashmir). How is Rashid helping the BJP by condemning its abrogation of Article 35-A, Article 370 and Modi? That is difficult to comprehend.
Rashid's release has badly rattled Omar who has made several statements against the Independent Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla. Not to be outdone, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti too has criticised the Rashid's release at this juncture, implying in their speeches and insinuating that it was the handiwork of the BJP. They fail to tell their respective audiences that it is due to a Supreme Court order that Sheikh Rashid is out of Tihar jail till the end of the election campaign.
On Sunday, Rashid joined hands with Jamaat-e-Islami saying the two groups/parties will support one another in several assembly segments. Particularly in assembly constituencies of Pulwama and Kulgam, this coming together of these two parties can hit the NC hard. These parties can get a good number of votes in all four assembly segments (Tral, Pampore, Pulwama and Rajpora) of the Pulwama district. In Kulgam district, the independent candidates backed by AIP and Jamaat can be a headache for both NC and the PDP in Kulgam, Devsar, Noorabad and Homashalibugh, all four assembly segments.
Incidentally, it needs to be mentioned here that Jamaat has its pockets of support in Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama districts, to an extent. With Rashid defeating Omar Abdullah with a margin of over two lakh votes in Baramulla, he can be expected to garner votes in the assembly elections too. This means the PDP in the south and the NC in the north of the valley will now be facing heat from the Jamaat and Rashid's Awami Ittehad Party (AIP).
It needs to be mentioned here that the Jamaat remains a banned organisation till date though its leaders had sent feelers to the Central government that they want to take part in the elections. This had happened prior to the Lok Sabha elections some months ago. Before assembly elections were announced, the Jamaat leaders were in touch with operatives of the intelligence agencies and conveyed their willingness to take part in the elections. However, the Central government did not lift the ban on Jamaat and as such it has decided to put up its candidates as independents.
Who gains from the Jamaat participation in the coming elections is a question that is being asked in Kashmir often these days. There may not be a straight and simple answer to that but NC sure has been on the wrong side (the other side) in all elections in the past. In 1986 and later, it was the Congress and its leader late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who could mobilise Jamaat cadres in his favour. Much later, in 2002 also, the Jamaat is reported to have helped his party, the PDP.
The indirect participation of the Jamaat through independent candidates in the elections is likely to harm the PDP, already fighting with its back to the wall, and alone. In the past, the mobilisation of Jamaat supporters has always gone against the NC, right from the days of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. However, it can harm both the NC and the PDP this time. The Jamaat's candidates (independents on paper) and Rashid's AIP are bad news for these parties as they can upstage their candidates in many constituencies.
Before the first vote has been cast in the first round of polling at booths on September 18, Jamaat and Rashid seemed all set to launch a pincer attack on NC, PDP and other mainstream parties in the Kashmir valley. These two together may become the choice of those who do not want to vote for the NC as also the PDP. They may also succeed in tapping the votes of disgruntled voters and separatist lobby. This is genuinely a worry for the NC-Congress alliance as also for the PDP. It seems parties like Apni Party and the People's Conference of Sajjad Lone have got totally marginalised in the process.
(IPA Service)
