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| Srinagar awaits last laugh! | | | ZAFAR CHOUDHARY
Jammu, Dec 23: Besides once lost turf of its Ganderbal backyard, Srinagar City is as important to National Conference as Jamia Masjid may be to Mirwaiz Farooq. Tomorrow’s polling will determine strength and relevance of political philosophy of National Conference as its 8 candidates face 143 candidates in term of votes and Peoples Democratic Party in terms of challenge to the political philosophy.
In 2002, when National Conference President and its Chief Ministerial candidate Omar Abdullah lost to a little known fellow called as Qazi Mohammad Afzal of PDP, the result was not even in wildest of the imaginations of poll watchers. Mirwaiz Omar Farooq had then aptly described, “Omar’s defeat at Ganderbal is like me being thrown out of Jamia Masjid”. This is the only statement any separatist leader had made on 2002 elections.
A nearly guaranteed ruler of Srinagar City, National Conference lost three seats to rebels in 2002 elections. It was taken easily as they were “own men gone angry” as later the party leaders described. However, two years later when PDP made inroads in the City with significant number of seats in the Municipal Corporation and victory of Tariq Hameed Karra from Batmallo constituency in by-elections, it set the alarm bells ringing –a formidable and first ever challenge to its urban base.
NC’s party symbol is plough to reflect its rural and peasant background which is actually not. Contemporaries and the students of politics say that deciding plough as symbol was a tactical move to entice the rural mindset as the party is fundamentally urban in origin. It is the urban origin of National Conference which always fetched it more seats in Srinagar City and most of other townships across the Valley.
Peoples Democratic Party is still regarded as a party with rural influence where it has been able to carve out a niche. Tomorrow’s polling in Srinagar City is crucial. While NC is confident of retaining its Srinagar base but a dent to its influence may this time be lethal.
Even as the Peoples Democratic Party has been able to make quite well defined inroads in the Srinagar City but it is not the only party making things tough for National Conference. Awami National Conference of GM Shah, Democratic Party of Ghulam Hassan Mir and a large number of candidates from other parties and independents may not be able to get many seats but they definitely divide the vote bank.
Srinagar City is the central hub of separatist politics in Kashmir. Though, except Mirwaiz Umar Farooq all prominent separatist leaders come from northern and southern villages of the Valley but their headquarters in Srinagar make the capital city also a capital of separatist politics. It is their concentration in the city which leads to a poor turnout brightening winning prospects of National Conference.
NC is a cadre based party and amidst boycott if few of its men are able to caste votes it makes things easy enough for its candidates. Therefore, turnout trend on Wednesday will decide who has the last laugh in Srinagar.
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