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| Forgets secessionism, ready to work with BJP which wants to scrap Art 370 in JK | | Sajad Lone falls in Modi's lap | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Nov 11: Former separatist turned mainstream politician Sajad Gani Lone falling in the lap of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unnerved the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leaders in Kashmir.
A day after the Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone met the Prime Minister in New Delhi the BJP leaders in Kashmir maintained silence over the meeting and refused to comment over the issue.
Sources said that Sajad meeting the Prime Minister has not gone well with the BJP leaders in Kashmir and they are feeling "insecure." "If Sajad joins the BJP or supports it there is every possibility of him becoming the face of BJP in Kashmir as party has no leader of Sajad's stature in its fold," they said.
Sources said the BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav has been instrumental in striking a deal with Sajad and facilitating the Modi-Sajad meet. "BJP is keen on establishing its base in Kashmir and for doing so it needs a local leader who can act as a bridge between Kashmir and Delhi," sources added.
Soon after meeting the Prime Minister Modi, Sajad said that he was impressed by his (Modi's) "down to earth personality" and called him as a "big brother." He had said that his party is not averse to alliance with the BJP.
The Peoples Conference, which was floated by Sajad's father late Abdul Gani Lone, assassinated by the unidentified gunmen in 2002, has fielded 12 candidates from north Kashmir, considered to be its bastion, for the forthcoming Assembly elections. The party would be contesting the polls after the gap of 24-years as late Abdul Gani Lone had said goodbye to the mainstream politics in 1990 and had joined the separatist camp when armed insurgency broke out in JK.
Soon after late Abdul Gani Lone was shot dead Sajad stirred a hornet's nest by alleging that his father was killed on the instructions of the Pakistan based ISI and the Hurriyat hardliners. He had directly blamed the Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani for his father's death. Sajad remained associated with the separatist camp till 2008 but during all the years he shared strained relationship with the hardliners who in 2002 alleged that Sajad had filed proxy candidates in the Assembly elections. The brick batting within Hurriyat led to its split as moderates and hardliners said goodbye to each other soon after 2002 Assembly elections ended in the state. Sajad's brother, Bilal Gani Lone, is the executive member of the moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Sajad broke the shackles in 2009 and contested the Parliamentary elections unsuccessfully from north Kashmir's Baramulla seat and since then he has been working hard to win the frontier areas which were nurtured by his late father. Analysts believe that Peoples Conference can prove out to be a tough competitor for the National Conference and People’s Democratic Party in north Kashmir.
Senior National Conference leader while talking to Early Times described Sajad as an "opportunist." "It's strange that a person who till yesterday used to preach secessionism has joined hands with a party that wants to abrogate Article 370 from the state," the leader said. "Sajad has changed his colour like a chameleon and he stands exposed before the masses."
The BJP leaders in Kashmir fear that if Sajad and top party leadership strike a deal he can become the front runner for the top post if the BJP is able to do well in the forthcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
A Kashmir based BJP leader said, "There is no big deal in Sajad meeting the Prime Minister. Media has created hype about it. Doors of Prime Minister are open for all who believe in Indian Constitution."
He refused to comment on whether Sajad is all set to become BJP's face in Kashmir. "There is still long way to do. Don't make presumptions," he added. |
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