Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): With the Lok Sabha elections set to begin on April 19, Kashmir's political landscape is seeing churning everyday as new political parties are shaping alliances and many politicians are changing parties.
Apni Party and Democratic Progressive Azad Party, both formed after abrogation of Article 370 and downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union Territories, have decided to form an alliance and contest the upcoming election jointly against National Conference and PDP. These parties are yet to announce the candidates, but sources said that Ghulam Nabi Azad of DPAP will contest the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, while Apni Party will field candidates in Baramulla and Srinagar parliamentary constituencies.
While NC and Congress have already announced alliance under INDIA bloc seat sharing and both parties will jointly contest on five seats of Jammu and Kashmir, PDP, also an INDIA bloc member, whoever will field candidates for Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramulla seats as NC has refused to give its erstwhile rival any space in the elections. Peoples Conference of Sajad Lone has already announced Lone as candidate for Baramulla-Kupwara seat.
Former Independent legislator Engineer Rasheed who is facing charges of supporting militancy and is jailed in Tihar jail will contest from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, his party announced on Wednesday and said on two seats of Kashmir they are open to alliance with any like-minded party.
Former BJP minister Lal Singh has joined Congress in New Delhi and will be INDIA alliance candidate for Udhampur seat against BJP incumbent MoS Dr Jitendra Singh. Lal Singh is an old Congress leader and had left Congress in 2014 when he was denied candidature by the party from Udhampur as the Congress had then fielded Ghulam Nabi Azad from the seat. Azad had lost the election against BJP's Dr Jitendra Singh.
Lal Singh contested 2014 and 2019 parliament elections as an independent candidate but he lost his deposit in both the elections. In 2014, he had joined BJP and contested assembly elections and was a forest minister in PDP-BJP government before he was forced to resign as he had supported the convicts of Asifa's rapists and murderers. This tragic incident had triggered rifts in PDP-BJP coalition and ultimately BJP withdrew its support to PDP when Mehbooba as chief minister headed the government. Lal Singh then left BJP and formed his Dogra Swabiman Sangathan and demanded a separate Dogra state for Jammu.
Many believe that Singh's rejoining Congress will dent the INDIA alliance partners, especially NC and Congress's political image in the upcoming parliamentary due to Asifa's case.
They say that Gujjar Bakerwal population will be angry with the Congress over Lal Singh and will dent both NC and Congress candidates' political prospects in Rajouri-Poonch and in the Kashmir valley. They say it will raise questions over Mehbooba Mufti if she remains in the INDIA alliance.
Following the abrogation of Article 370, at least 10 political outfits have cropped up in Kashmir which include Apni Party of Altaf Bukhari and Democratic Progressive Azad Party led by former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Other little-known political outfits have registered by Election Commission of India include National Awami United Party, National Democratic Party (Indian), Aman Aur Shanti Tehreek-e-Jammu & Kashmir, Voice of Labour Party (Jammu & Kashmir), Haq Insaaf Party, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement, Jammu and Kashmir Nationalist People's Front. These outfits are led by those activists who have no political recognition in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bukhari had launched his Apni Party in March 2020 after the abrogation of Article 370 when several mainstream leaders including Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah were under house arrest then.
Azad set up his own DPAP after he resigned from Congress after 40 years when Congress was in power. Both these parties are being labeled as "B" team of BJP by the National Conference and PDP.
While Bukhari took away 40 leaders of PDP, Azad initially gave a jolt to Congress when dozens of its leaders joined him, but these leaders rejoined Congress soon after, leaving Azad with five former legislators only.
NC and PDP are questioning the floating of these new parties after the abrogation of Article 370 saying that the announcement of the alliance by the parties is aimed to divide Muslims votes in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The parliament elections are also seeing many little-known political activists contesting the elections, particularly on the three seats of Kashmir valley where BJP is eyeing to win Anantnag-Rajouri seat after the seat was redrawn in 2022 delimitation.
Political analysts believe that parliament elections have set the stage for political churning in Jammu and Kashmir. Assembly elections will see major drifts as political parties and politicians anticipate higher voter turnouts in those elections.
