National Conference Wave in J&K Fells Giants

While addressing a gathering this September in Ganderbal, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah removed the cap from his head and pleaded with the people to “save his dignity”. Omar’s plea in Ganderbal, considered an NC bastion, came after he had lost the Baramulla Parliamentary seat to the jailed Engineer Rasheed earlier this year. On October 8, Omar’s “plea” for NC supporters paid off. The region’s oldest political party swept the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. For NC supporters, their party’s wave has drowned the “tallest men” in the game.

Out of total 90 Assembly seats that went to polls in Union Territory, NC has won 42 seats. For several NC leaders at the party’s headquarters ‘Nawa-e-Subah’ in Srinagar, the result was “unprecedented”.

“We had expected to get good number of seats, but this kind of mandate from people is extraordinary. There was suffocation in Kashmir in the last five-six years. People have reacted to it democratically. We have been given mandate and NC will put peoples’ interest first,” said NC leader Sabiya Qadri, who is also the head of the women’s wing in Kashmir.  

Another NC leader who wished anonymity said the mandate given to the party was “beyond expectations”. “It means we have now responsibility to fight for the people who have been left disempowered,” he said.

The top political leaders who have been defeated by NC include BJP’s firebrand leader Ravinder Raina. He has been defeated by Surinder Kumar Choudhary. Raina has called NC a party of “dynasts” and has been vocal about its top brass—the Abdullahs—accusing them of being responsible for the “mess” in Kashmir.

Altaf Bukhari of the Apni Party, which emerged in the post-August 5, 2019 scenario in Kashmir, has been defeated by NC’s Mushtaq Guroo. Bukhari was a Minister in the previous PDP-led government. He has been accusing NC of  “all the ills” in Kashmir, holding it responsible for Kashmir’s “lost dignity and status”.

Bijebehara in south Kashmir, considered PDP’s bastion, also fell in the NC wave. PDP’s firebrand leader Iltija Mufti lost to NC’s Dr Bashir Veeri. The daughter of party chief Mehbooba Mufti had emerged as one of the most vocal politicians after the abrogation of Article 370, vehemently criticising BJP for its “iron-fist policies” in Jammu and Kashmir at a time when many in the Valley refrained from speaking up. However, this didn’t help her win her maiden election. The voters chose ‘hal’ (NC’s symbol plough).

Other veterans who lost their seats to NC include Apni Party’s Ghulam Hasan Mir, PDP’s Sartaj Madni, GN Lone, Bashir Ahmed Mir, Aga Muntazir, Nazir Ahmad Khan, Imran Reza Ansari and Abid Ansari.  

However, it was a tough fight for NC in several seats. An analyst in Kashmir cites the case of Pattan seat where NC was able to register victory with a margin of only 600 votes, and of Devsar, where NC won by a margin of  840 votes.