J&K Separatist Leaders and Kin Enter Assembly Poll Fray To Test Their Fortunes

Ahead of the Assembly elections, separatist leaders and their kin are entering the electoral arena in Srinagar. Notably, a prominent separatist leader and the sons of two other well-known separatist figures are contesting the polls, aiming to convert their historical political influence into electoral success, writes ETV Bharat's Mir Farhat

Srinagar:Ahead of Assembly polls, separatist leaders and their kin are jumping into the poll fray hoping that their past sentimental politics will turn into votes. A separatist leader and sons of two prominent separatist leaders are contesting the upcoming Assembly elections in the Valley.

Syed Salim Gilani, a member of Hurriyat (M), led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and headed his little-known separatist outfit, Jammu and Kashmir National People's Party, on Sunday joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the presence of Mehbooba Mufti. Salim may be PDP’s candidate from Srinagar’s Khanyar to contest against National Conference’s general secretary and six-time legislator Ali Muhammad Sagar.

Speaking on the occasion, Mehbooba thanked the Hurriyat leader for joining the party and said she wanted the new entrant to contest the upcoming election on the PDP ticket, but he said that the party should give a chance to any other candidate. However, the PDP president hoped that the former Hurriyat leader would help the party in Srinagar.

Salim said that he was associated with the Hurriyat Conference for 35 years and he still feels proud of his past association with Hurriyat, and now he feels the same pride for joining a mainstream party.

“PDP is the party, which has touched and talked about all aspects of Jammu and Kashmir. From the Kashmir issue, elections, issues of people, human rights and basic amenities, PDP talks about all these issues. My aim is not contesting elections, but raising issues of people and working for them,” he said.

PDP, which was known as a soft-separatist party before aligning with BJP in 2015 in an “unholy alliance”, has lost much of its political ground and narrative due to its coalition with BJP, is welcoming its old members and separatists or their kin into the party to contest elections.

Although Salim is not largely known in Kashmir, he was a significant member of the Mirwaiz group as in 2005 he was nominated as an interlocutor by the Hurriyat Conference to hold talks with Kashmiri Pandits for their return. Salim had quit the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat Conference in 2015.

Last week, Aga Syed Muntazir, the son of Aga Syed Hassan Al Moosvi's president Anjuman Sharie Shian and a constituent of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, joined PDP in the presence of Mehbooba Mufti.

The young Muntazir has been fielded from the Budgam assembly segment which has a decisive Shia vote and is witnessing a political battle between the influential Aga family for decades.

Aga family’s three members, Aga Syed Muntazir, Aga Syed Ahmad and Aga Syed Mehmood are contesting the upcoming polls. While Aga Mehmood is likely to contest on the National Conference ticket, Aga Syed Ahmad will be contesting on the Awami National Conference (ANC) ticket, all vying for the support of Shia voters in the constituency. Interestingly, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, the MP from the Srinagar Parliamentary seat, belongs to the same Aga clan, which is politically divided among different parties.

Aga Syed Muntazir said that his decision to contest elections and join the mainstream was not for power, but for raising the voice of the marginalised youth. A law graduate, the younger Aga has been active in social work in Budgam and participated in interfaith dialogue at several forums.

“I have a manifesto, I have a vision; I am not asking for votes on the name of my father. It is the people of this constituency, who are suffering and who have problems and they decide to field me,” Muntazir told ETV Bharat when asked whether his separatist father has consented to his elections.

“I look forward to working towards the constitutional protection and civic rights of my constituency,” he said.

Javaid Hubi is the son of former Hurriyat leader Dr Ghulam Muhammad Hubi. Dr Hubi, a member of Mirwaz’s Hurriyat faction (M), but has been inactive for many years now. Dr Ghulam Muhammad Hubi, a doctor, quit his job in 1983 to join the Peoples Conference, which was then headed by Abdul Gani Lone.

As per family sources, Dr Hubi had contested the 1983 and 87 Assembly elections from the Char-i-Sharif constituency but later stayed away from electoral exercise after the alleged rigging of the 1987 elections.

The younger Hubi, in his forties, is a prominent lawyer in Budgam and president of Bar Association Budgam. He also appeared as counsel in the Article 370 case filed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association in the Supreme Court.

“My social and legal work in Budgam speaks about my profile and people will reciprocate and appreciate my work in the area,” said Hubi, adding that his father has welcomed his decision to join the electoral exercise.

AIP Chief Spokesperson Inam un Nabi while welcoming Hubbi to the party, said, "Advocate Javaid Hubbi’s decision to join AIP [jailed MP Engineer Rashid’s party] is a significant addition for us. His reputation and commitment will greatly bolster our efforts to serve the community," Inam Un Nabi stated. Hubi will be the AIP candidate from Budgam’s Chrar-i-Sharif Assembly constituency.

In Pulwama district's Rajpora Assembly constituency, Altaf Ahmad Bhat (Altaf Zadoori), brother of jailed separatist leader Bashir Ahmad Bhat (Peer Saifullah), is contesting on the ticket of jailed MP Engineer Rashid's Awami Itehad Party ticket.

Peer Saifullah, who has been in Tihar jail since 2017, is a senior leader of late separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani's Hurriyat Conference.

Belonging to an influential land-owning family which was primarily with Congress, Altaf Bhat is known for his social work in Pulwama town and his vicinity.

In the parliament elections, Munir Khan, the younger brother of jailed separatist leader Nayeem Khan, lost his security deposit from Baramulla parliamentary seat. Khan is contesting the upcoming polls from Baramulla and has fielded several candidates in the first phase in south Kashmir under the banner of the Jammu and Kashmir Nationalist Peoples Front.

On August 5, 2019, the government of India launched a major crackdown on separatism and militancy by jailing all prominent separatist leaders. Many leaders are now having a rethink about their politics. At least four former members of the banned socio-political organisation Jamaat-e-Islami are contesting the elections in the first phase.

Jammu and Kashmir is slated for its first Assembly elections as a Union Territory and the voting for the first phase is scheduled on September 18 when 24 seats of seven districts in south Kashmir and Chenab valley are slated for polls.