Srinagar: The assembly elections results in Jammu and Kashmir gave a landslide victory to the grand-old party National Conference (NC), but its many legislators in the UT assembly are dynasts, whose father's have been into the party since the time of NC's founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
NC's vice president Omar Abdullah, who is set to become the first chief minister of the union territory, is the third generation politician of the Sheikh family which has ruled the Jammu and Kashmir for most of the time in the esrtwhile state's electoral history.
The 54-year-old Omar, who was elected as MLA from Budgam and Ganderbal, is the son of former chief minister Farooq Abdullah. Farooq Abdullah has been the chief minister of the erstwhile state twice in 1984 and 1996. Omar, who started his political career in 1998 as the youngest Member of Parliament and a minister, has been the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 2008-2014. This will be Omar's next stint as CM but he will be governing a UT which has truncated powers and the Lieutenant Governor is more empowered than him per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2020.
43-year-old Salman Sagar who was elected from Hazratbal assembly segment is the son of NC's general secretary and seven-time legislator Ali Muhammad Sagar. The elder Sagar has been associated with the National Conference since the days of Sheikh Abdullah. He has won six consecutive assembly elections from Khanyar constituency of Srinagar. His son Salman is the youth president of the NC for Kashmir valley. He won his debut elections from Hazratbal by defeating former minister of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Asiea Naqash.
Hilal Akbar Lone, the 50-year-old NC leader, won the elections from Sonawari constituency of Bandipora district, is the son of Akbar Lone. The elder Lone is a long-time associate of NC, who was MLA Sonawari from 2002 to 2018, Member of Parliament in 2019 and a controversial speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly. Hilal Lone contested the debut elections in place of his ailing father, and defeated Yasir Reshi, an independent candidate backed by Engineer Rashid.
Bashir Ahnad Shah (Veeri) who defeated Iltija Mufti, the daughter of PDP president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, from Srigufwara-Bijbehara constituency of the Anantnag district, is the son of former minister of NC, late Abdul Gani Shah. The younger Veeri won his first elections from the constituency which his father had won consecutively since 1983 polls. PDP had made inroads into the seat in 1996 when Mehbooba Mufti won the seat as Congress candidate.
50-year-old Sheikh Ahsan Ahmad (Pardesi) who won from Lal Chowk assembly constituency, is the son of Sheikh Ghulam Qadir (Pardesi). Ghulam Qadir was deputy commissioner of Srinagar in 1987 when the assembly elections were allegedly rigged, had joined PDP after his retirement. He later switched sides to join NC and again joined PDP in 2003. He was made MLC by PDP in the 2002-2008 coalition government of PDP-Congress. Later, when his term as MLC was over, he joined NC again and put his son Ahsan into the party, who won from Lal Chowk, which was renamed from Sonwar.
The NC's chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq won the elections from Zadibal constituency in Srinagar. The 45-year-old Tanvir is the son of Sadiq Ali, who was NC's treasurer and an MLC. Tanir began his political career with PDP and was elected a councilor to Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC). But he later joined NC and became closer to Omar Abdullah, who helped him to be nominated as MLC in 2008-2014 NC-Congress government when Omar was the chief minister.
Dr Sajjad Shafi (Uri), 55, is the son of NC's veteran leader and former minister Mohammad Shafi (Uri). The senior Uri has represented the Line of Control (LoC) assembly segment many times, and his medical doctor son is now the legislator of the sensitive seat after he won his debut elections.
The veteran Gujjar leader Mian Altaf managed to field his son Mian Meher Ali from the Kangan constituency of Ganderbal district. Kangan is the citadel of Mian family and the 38-year-old Meher is the third generation scion of the Gujjar family. Before Altaf, the present MP from Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat, is the son of late Mian Bashir, who was a spiritual and veteran Gujjar leader across the Jammu and Kashmir. He was a Congress leader and his son Altaf shaped his career in NC and now the grandson Meher will represent Kangan.
Mian Altaf's influence in NC and in the political sphere of tribals can also be measured by the fact that three legislators in NC won because of his popularity among Gujjar's. From the Surankote assembly of Poonch, Altaf's close relative Choudhary Akram won as an independent. Akran, the son of veteran Congress leader late Choudhary Aslam, contested against the young Congress and NC alliance candidate Shahnawaz Choudhary. Akram was in the Congress and then in the Apni Party but he was roped in by Mian Altaf into the NC before parliamentary elections. He won as an independent but has extended his support to NC in the government formation.
NC candidate Javaid Choudhary from Budhal constituency of Rajouri district, won his debut elections by defeating his maternal uncle Zulfkar Choudhary who joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) days before the assembly polls. The Choudhary's of Rajouri are related to Mian Altaf's family. In South Kashmir's Kokernag seat, which is reserved for tribals, the debutant Zafar Ali Khatana won the seat by defeating PDP candidate Chaoudhary Haroon Khatana. Zafar Ali is related to Mian Altaf and was given the ticket to contest the elections on Mian's recommendation.
Sakeena Masood Itoo is the senior woman leader in the NC who is always tough for her rivals to defeat in the assembly elections. The 52-year-old MLA is the daughter of former NC minister Wali Mohammad Itoo, who was killed by militants in April 1994 in his native village when he was coming out of a Masjid. Sakeena took the reins of NC in DH Pora from after her father's killing and has won three assembly elections. She was also a Social Welfare minister in the NC and Congress government in 2008-2014. She lost the 2014 assembly elections to Abdul Majeed Paddar of PDP.
Irshad Rasool Kar, 51, is the son of veteran Congress leader, late Ghulam Rasool Kar, who was the president of Congress unit of Jammu and Kashmir. The younger Kar joined the NC before 2021 was fielded from Sopore assembly seat and defeated the Congress candidate Abdul Rashid Dar. Dar has represented Sopore twice in 2008 and 2014, but this time he found the battle tough to defeat Kar, who had support of NC and Congress workers. His sister Masarat Kar, a former chairperson of Municipal Council Sopore is also into the NC's women wing.
In the NC's opposition PDP, its debutant legislator, Rafeeq Ahmad Naik, from Tral assembly constituency of Pulwama district, has his political roots in NC. His father late Ali Muhammad Naik was NC veteran leader and member of parliament and speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly. Rafeeq, was a government employee in the law department of JK government. His luck shone in politics after his retirement as soon as he joined PDP. The 61 year-old Naik defeated the Congress-NC alliance candidate Surinder Singh Channi from Tral in his debut elections, but will sit in the opposition with the two other PDP MLAs.
NC spokesperson Imran Nabi said that the leaders have been elected by the people on the basis of their work they have done for the people in their respective constituencies.
"These elected leaders have worked on the ground for the party and for the people of their constituencies. On the basis of their performance and winnability, the party gave them tickets in the elections; their nomination and election are based on their performance not the relation of their families or fathers in politics," Nabi told ETV Bharat.
Apart from NC, maverick politician Engineer Rashid has replaced himself in the Langate assembly constituency by his younger brother Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh to retain the citadel. Engineer, who is out on bail in an alleged terror funding case, won the parliament elections from Baramulla parliamentary seat by defeating NC vice president Omar Abdullah. Since Rashid was elected to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly twice in 2008 and 2014, he did not want an outsider to contest the assembly polls from Langate. He fielded his brother, Khursheed, who resigned as a government teacher before the assembly elections and won the assembly elections.
Firdous Baba, the spokesman of Awani Itehad Party (AIP) of Engineer Rashid said that Khursheed was chosen by the party as a candidate for Langate based on "merits" not on his relation with Rashid.
"His outreach and connect with the people in Langate, his interest in working for the people and his clean reputation in his locality were the merits on which the party gave him the ticket," Baba told ETV Bharat.
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