Over two dozen secessionists join assembly polls in J&K

SRINAGAR: At least 25 former militants, separatists, and members of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, and their relatives are running as independent candidates or on party tickets in J&K first assembly elections in a decade. This marks a notable shift towards mainstream political participation, moving away from the separatist boycotts that have dominated polls during three decades of militancy.

The list of candidates includes prominent former separatists such as Zaffar Habib Dar, Syed Saleem Geelani, Javid Hubbi, and Aga Muntazir Mehdi.

Zaffar is running as a candidate for J&K Apni Party. He sees participation in the democratic process as the key to resolving the issues in an altered scenario since the abrogation of Article 370 in Aug 2019 and the bifurcation of the region into Union territories — J&K and Ladakh.

“We can solve problems only through the electoral process. Everyone should participate in the electoral process by casting their vote,” Dar said.

JKLF ex-commander Farooq Ahmad Dar are among those running. Dar, also known as Saifullah Farooq, is running on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Habba Kadal constituency. Farooq, who was among the first militants in 1989 and crossed over to PoK for arms training, now regrets his decision. “That time everyone picked up the gun. We were misguided by Pakistan agents in Kashmir,” Dar said.

After a year of militancy, he surrendered to police and spent nearly five years in jail. Farooq, who ran in the 2019 municipal elections on a BJP ticket, is now appealing to voters, emphasising his opposition to Pakistan’s interference in Kashmir.

The Jamaat has strategically fielded independent candidates in about 15 constituencies, including Pulwama, Kulgam, Zainapora, and Devsar in south Kashmir, and Beerwah, Langate, Bandipora, Baramulla, Sopore, and Rafiabad in the north. Notable candidates include Talat Majid, Sayaar Ahmad, and Hafiz Mohammad.

The Jamaat participated in elections until 1987. It had Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani serve as an MLA for three terms before the assembly was dissolved in 1990 because of militancy.

Former member Sayaar Ahmad reflected on the organisation’s long absence from electoral politics. “We never called a poll boycott. We stayed away from elections as there was rigging in the 1987 assembly elections in which Jamaat-e-Islami candidates were also contesting,” Ahmad said, asserting that participation in elections is now seen as the only way to address the region’s long-standing issues.

The former militants and separatists have banded together to form a political group named Tahreek-e-Awam to contest the ongoing elections.

According to sources, the decision by these former separatists was influenced by the success of Abdul Rashid Sheikh, better known as Engineer Rashid, who defeated National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah and People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone in Baramulla during the Lok Sabha elections despite being imprisoned.

Rashid managed to secure more than 4.7 lakh votes, largely attributed to sympathy and Kashmiri sentiment. Members of Tahreek-e-Awam see an opportunity in this wave of sentiment and aim to replicate Rashid’s success, sources said. Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), though not officially recognised, has also announced independent candidates for elections.

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