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| Battle in Darhal, Kalakote | | Where faith overweighs caste; caste overweighs credibility | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Nov 19: Two treacherously hilly assembly constituencies of Rajouri district –Darhal and Kalakote –are rocked with potential rebels and have a unique contest where the campaign trail has caste factor and faith in particular sect weighing heavily on policies of parties and credibility of candidates.
Caste factor which includes a running down clash of identities and interest between Gujjars and Pahari speaking people have deep inroads in both segments, particularly in Darhal constituency. However, when this time the participation of serious candidates from both castes emerged quite proportionate, the religious factor has been brought into contest.
Darhal is one such constituency in entire Jammu province where Peoples Democratic Party has all its eggs placed. For National Conference victory on this seat is not as important as it is for the religious leader Mian Bashir Ahmed who once won this seat on Congress ticket.
Mian’s kin Layakat Ali is National Conference candidate who is locked in a straight contest –if the prevailing community participation is taken into account –with Choudhary Zulfikar Ali of Peoples Democratic Party. Congress has fielded 2002’s surprise winner Puran Singh who comes along two rebels from the party –Mohammad Iqbal Malik and Masud Ahmed.
In 2002 a strong Gujjar versus Pahari candidate swoop the constituency and Puran Singh being lone Pahari contender surprised even his own self when he won with a wafer thin margin. Just two years before that his son had lost Panchayat election from the home village. The potential Gujjars in the fray in 2002 included Layakat –till then a Congress activist –as NC nominee, Master Tassaduq as PDP nominee and Choudhary Zulfikar as an independent. Zulfikar had finished third.
The caste factor though exists and is being projected in a shrill voice but it is not likely to swing balance in any one’s favour as there are more than one potential contender from both castes. Among Gujjars the leading contenders are Zulfikar and Layaqat and among Paharis are Puran Singh and Malik. Division is much likely among the Pahari vote bank as Puran Singh has two more contenders from his strong belt of Budhal –one is from Panthers Party and other one independent.
The National Conference has taken along widely respected religious leader Mian Bashir Ahmed to campaign of these twin constituencies. Representing a spiritually rich lineage, Mian has significant following in the area and is extensively campaigning for Layaqat Ali who otherwise has a little support base.
The neighbouring Kalakote constituency too has a kin of Mian Bashir in the contest but here he is from Congress. During his public meetings in Kalakote Mian made quite a power address to his followers to vote in favour of NC candidate Rashpaul Singh. “Those among you who want to hold my hand should hold hand of Rashpaul first”. Kalakote has an interesting battle.
As the Congress affiliated people of Kalakote would have never imagined that party would handpick a gentleman from Poonch to contest from here the shock for the party too was no lesser. Ashok Sharma of Congress represented Kalakote in 1996 but lost in 2002. However, for his loyalties the party rehabilitated him in the Upper House of Legislature.
Sharma still had two and half years to go as MLC; the party had hardly expected a rebellion from him on ‘awarding’ ticket to AG Kohli. Sharma plunged into fray as independent not only to discomfiture of Congress but also to highest embarrassment of the party.
Peoples Democratic Party has fielded one Khaliq Qureishi in Kalakote who is backed by a top religious leader with huge following not only in this particular constituency but also in both districts –Rajouri and Poonch. Baji Muzaffar Hussain Shah had to leave Poonch last on intervention of election authorities when he was campaigning for PDP candidates. |
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