Arun Joshi
Kashmir witnessed a simultaneous fall of two rival dynasties in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls . The humiliating defeat of that greeted National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and his staunch rival Mehbooba Mufti , PDP president and icon of the Mufti dynasty, tells its own story for the political landscape in the Valley which is at center of the focus of the national and international observers . these two political families are intertwined with Kashmir politics , issue for long and the truer fact is that Kashmir politics cannot be perceived in proper perspective without these families and the parties they head . This near collapse of the family oriented political parties is a watershed moment in Kashmir, not only they have fallen but also conceded space to the separatist sentiment in plenty
Omar Abdullah , vice president of National Conference and third generation Abdullah after his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah who founded the party in 1938 – converting it to its new nomenclature from Muslim Conference ( founded in 1931) and his father Farooq Abdullah – five- time chief minister , lost to a jailed leader Abdul Rashid Sheikh , better known as Engineer Rashid by a margin of over two lakh votes in north Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency . this defeat was as biting as his loss in the debut in Assembly polls from his party and family’s bastion Ganderbal constituency in 2002 when he lost to a lesser known PDP candidate Qazi Mohammad Afzal . He could avenge that defeat by getting elected to Lok Sabha in 2004 for a third time- he had successfully contested 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha polls , and he was also a minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government from 1999 to 2002 autumn .
Engineer Rashid , an advocate of the special rights of Kashmiris and a vociferous champion of the rights of the terrorists like Afzal Guru who was hanged to death in February 2013 for his role in the Parliament attack in December 2001 , was jailed in 2019 on charges of pleading secessionist cause . He is an enigma to many in Kashmir politics as he took upon himself the issue of beef eating , defying the orders that beef easting be banned He had developed a different kind of connect with the people , pandering to their feelings of resistance , and also evoking cheers from others while taking up issues with which sections of Kashmiri Muslims found an echo of their rights .
Initially, it was a race between People’s Conference Sajad Gani Lone who himself had been a part of semi-separatism spectrum in Kashmir politics , and Omar Abdullah , who for reasons best known to him , decided to contest from Baramulla constituency , leaving Srinagar parliamentary constituency that had sent him to Lok Sabha three times . Engineer Rashid was late entry into the contest. His party Awami Iteehad Party didn’t have cadre or organizational structure that could have seen him as a front runner in this electoral battle . At best, he was a seen as a candidate who would cut into the votes of Omar and Sajad , nothing more , nothing less. A vibrancy was seen when his son Abrar led the campaign, it attracted crowds and social media posts eyeballs . This was an unanticipated storm in Kashmir politics . which swept both Omar and Sajad Lone off their feet .
What the NC and PC and PDP have to fear now is that Engineer Rahid’s stupendous victory in north Kashmir has reignited the secessionist sentiment . It has given a clear indication that the people still side with those who speak of the resistance . The jailed Engineer Rashid has become a symbol of it, and his victory will send similar signals elsewhere in the Valley . NC has to fear the candidates like Engineer Rashid can cause trouble in its bastions in Central and South Kashmir . Similar fears must be dominating the political thinking of Mehbooba Mufti and her party PDP.
Mehbooba Mufti who had won twice the Lok Sabha polls from Anantnag parliamentary constituency lost in 2024 to Mian Altaf Ahmad a veteran Gujjar leader who commands absolute sway over his community that has a very large presence in Rajouri-Poonch, which were also part of the constituency. Mehbooba could not repeat her 2004 and 2014 performance because she is seen as a facilitator of BJP’s entry into the Kashmir Valley, which , to put it mildly, doesn’t like the saffron party . BJP’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and frequent play out of the abrogation of Article 370 hurt the Valley . He was handed over defeat by voters yet again – she had lost in 2019 too . Now she will have to instill fresh confidence among party workers , but her political tools are limited .
The fall of the two political families in Kashmir, as Apni Party’s leader Altaf Bukhari put it is a rejection of the dynastic parties . It rings of truth . The regional party like Apni Party that stands by Indian nationalism and has worked out a narrative of realism . Though it may seem and it is true also that separatist sentiment is not dead in Kashmir, but Apni Party has opened windows for realistic politics that Delhi alone can resolve Kashmir’s problems as all other options have led to disaster only . It’s to be seen how this narrative resonates with the people in Kashmir who have their own way of speaking out their mind.
Disclaimer: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
